i was wondering if its ok to talk baby talk to babies?or is it better to talk plain?

Question

i have heard that it will cause them to ave speech problems when they get older and some tell me its fine just try not ot it went they get 1 and 2 years old.

Answer 1

not too bad as babies but when start talking its better to pronounce words properly so they learn them correctly the first it even helps later when at school with spelling
i know a girl who spelt 'Drink' as 'Jrink'

Answer 2

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with talking baby talk to babies. As a matter of fact there is proof that babies respond better to the the funny sounding, higher pitched, silly sounding baby talk then they do regular language. However, I agree that around age 1 or 2 when their language is starting to develop you should try speaking a little more normally so the child can pick up on the proper pronounciation of words. During the earl months babies don't care about pronounciation of words. They are listening to rythm and looking for animation in your voice and expresion, this is the development of communication and language, good luck!

Answer 3

No, it wont cause speech problems. People have been doing it for centuries. An interesting fact tho, is that babies will understand just as well if you call a dog a german shephard instead of a doggie; and will absorb Shakespeare as readily as Grimms Fairy Tales. But its still okay to talk baby talk to an extent. Remember this:: Kids are like sponges...they absorb everything. And a little known fact is that babies absorb most of his/her knowledge before they can even talk (approx age 2).

Answer 4

Remember that babies are like little sponges. They learn and absorb everything around them. You should try to speak to them in easy to understand, full sentences and reinforce what you mean. For example, say "Are you hungry?" and show something to eat. When I was a baby, my parents would say really long words in a high pitched, "baby voice" tone so I would pick up the way syllables connect and still be interested by the high pitched tone. My dad would say "Encyclopedia" all the time for example.... Just some food for thought :)

Answer 5

I think it's better to talk to your children normally. Why bother teaching your child incorrect english unless it's what you want *them* to emulate.

My father is an English professor and he always spoke to me as though I were a young adult. I really believe this helped to speed my comprehension. If there was ever a word I didn't understand, it was up to me to ask "Dad, what does xxxx mean?" and he would patiently explain.

I don't have any children of my own yet, but if I am fortunate enough to have children I will do as my father did and encourage my children to speak properly.

As an aside, this doesn't mean you can't be silly with your children. Kids will be kids (I invented words all the time if I didn't know what things were called and my sister did too), but I just think it's important to set a positive example because your children spend so much time with you at a young age and you are who they look up to most.

Answer 6

What is the point of baby talk? Does it actually sound cute? Will it actually help the baby LEARN anything? No. So don't waste energy doing it. Seriously. When we had our daughter my husband and I agreed to only talk "normal" and ask that noone "babytalk" to our daughter either. It teaches her language faster and increases their learning skills more. My daughter has learned so fast and I think if I had said "goo goo gaa gaa, whoo is my wittle snookie oookie" or something like that, she wouldn't be where she is now. I would encourage plain talk and that you ask others to do the same for your baby as it will be better brain development for them in the long run.

Answer 7

Well, I can only share what I know first hand. My son and my brother's son are the same age - born weeks apart. We let everyone know that we didn't want anyone to 'baby talk' to our son, and for the most part, our friends and family complied. He was saying words clearly by 18 months, and full sentences by 24 months. I have him on video tape! My brother's son heard mostly baby talk, and he didn't speak clearly at all until age 3. Think about it - if you ask your baby if he wants some wa-wa instead of water, then how is he going to know how to say water correctly? I think you do a child a disservice by using baby talk.

Answer 8

It is normal to talk "babytalk" to infants. But you should also talk in a normal tone and with normal words some of the time.

When you are doing things with them and for them, tell them what you are doing or describe what is going on. People normally have a slightly different tone of voice when talking to an infant and I think that is fine, but they do need to hear how "real speech" sounds too.

Answer 9

I think the baby talk is alright for the first 6 months of life, after that plain talk in a high voice is better than baby talk.

Answer 10

WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS "BETTER" OR "WORSE" BUT I HAVE A 2 YEAR OLD WHO KNOWS HIS SHAPES, COLORS, CAN COUNT TO TEN AND STARTED WALKING AT 10 MONTHS OLD. WE TALKED BABY TALK TO HIM EVERY NOW AND THEN BUT ONLY UNTIL ABOUT 6-8 MONTHS OR SO. COULD JUST BE GOOD GENES, I DON'T KNOW...........BUT I DID READ IN A PARENTING MAGAZINE THAT KIDS WHO ARE TALKED TO LIKE REGULAR ADULTS OR WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, DO HAVE A BETTER LEARNING CURVE AND SHOW SIGNS OF HIGHER IQ'S THAN THOSE WHO TALK BABY TALK FOR A LONG TIME OR ONLY TALK BABY TALK ALL THE TIME. YOU MAKE THE CHOICE!!! GOOD LUCK

Answer 11

I don't think that makes any difference. If you speak baby talk until they're like 10 then maybe, but you shouldnt ALWAYS speak like that. There's no fun in speaking to a baby like your talking to a grown up! If your like feeding your baby to get him to eat then you know its fine, but when your putting on their close or reading a book to them pronounce the words normally because what they hear is what they learn to say. Once in a while will never hurt!