Why do we switch our tone of voice when we talk to kids or pets?

Question

it seems as if we talk in a different voice to kids and pets than we do to adults(you know that silly voice i'm talking about), kinda funny if ya think of it.

Answer 1

Its such an instinctive thing that we do that I tend to think it serves some purpose. As a mother and grandmother I have had my share of silly voices used to quiet or amuse a child and if it didn't work, I wouldn't have used them. That it does work makes me think that even if the puppy or baby didn't understand my spoken language the tone is what gets through to them and they respond to that.
I have had several litters of pups and I am used to non verbal communication in dogs and its odd how the same sounds that the mother dog uses to 'speak' to her pups are so similar to the 'tones' a mother uses to her pre-speech baby.
Please understand that the need for this changes as the baby ages and after 3 or 4 it isn't needed or used, certainly using after that is going to make a kids eyes roll.

Answer 2

Using a special tone of voice is necessary with pets because they only understand the tone of voice and the sounds of words (like "sit", "stay" and so on) - they don't understand what the words mean.

With kids we usually speak in a way we think they will understand (which usually carries over the way adults talk to us when we were kids.
Even though what we actually say may be appropriate, the tone of voice can get a kid upset because it's like you're holding a big sign over their head that says: "I have to talk like this because s/he's only a kid [not a real person yet] and wouldn't understand what I was saying if I talked to him/her like I'd talk to another adult."

The sad thing is that most kids swear blind that they'll never talk to ANYONE that way when they grow up. But when they are grown up they do the same thing with the kids in their life.

And the good news is - IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY! Talk to kids in the same tone that you'd use with an intelligent adult, and ONLY adjust the words you use if the kid REALLY can't understand you.

The exception is when you use so-called "baby talk" to VERY young children. Researchers have discovered that this is actually beneficial. A baby can't understand what you're saying no matter what tone of voice you use, but it IS able to learn the basic sounds of its native language from hearing the exaggerated, drawn out sounds we use in baby-talk.

Answer 3

Yes, I know that silly voice...I use it all the time to my dogs. Plus, I call them all sorts of embarrassing nicknames. There is something about the higher pitch of babytalk that reassures animals (and probably children as well). Perhaps it is associated with a gentle female instead of a blustering male. Yes, at a certain point, it becomes patronizing if you use it on humans past a certain age. I never use it on children older than about three.

Answer 4

Why you shout at a person when he trespass your Home ? Why do politicians speak in loud at an election campaign ?

When you find a stranger, your consciousness passes message to your brain, that some danger is ahead. Then brain send message to your throat to shout. Similarly, a politician wants his speech to reach more persons, hence a different message from brain.

Now I hope you got answer, why we speak / talk , in a low voice with a kid, with a pet, in a hospital, in School etc.,.

Answer 5

Because they need to be educated, we know that, thats why we talk to them like this

Answer 6

It's an indication that we are "talking down to them", i.e. we consider ourselves superior to them.

Answer 7

I hated that as a child and have NEVER done it to kids (who love me for that)
It's real moronic! ;-)

Answer 8

right...