who is baby talk for? in my opinion the answer is no one!! i’m not saying to avoid a sweet sing-song voice with your infants/babies, but i am saying that no one needs to listen to baby talk! baby talk for me is a sort of nails on the chalkboard sound. it irritates me, but more importantly it frustrates me. it frustrates me because i feel sorry for the baby or child. babies and children learn from you. for the first few years of their lives all education comes from you…the parents!! it is your job to teach them about everything and language in particular. they learn from example, exposure, and repetition. you are responsible for giving them all of these three things!
when we first brought home our first little guy, hudson, my husband asked me “what should i do?” it was so innocent and honest. he seriously did not know what to do. i said to him “first, read, read, read, and point to the words from day one. secondly, talk, talk, talk!” he listened to my advice and together we have read, read, read, and talked, talked, talked since before our boys even entered this world! we use clear language. large usage of vocabulary. explain everything in detailed language just as we would explain it to a peer. our kids watch minimal television and instead we spend our time, talking!!
baby talk makes me feel as though you aren’t giving your children the credit they deserve. if you have expectations for them and believe they can meet them, they will! back when i was getting my masters in education i was doing my student teaching in kindergarten. eunice was the teacher i was teaching under and i will never forget something she said to me in regards to young kindergarten students. she said to me, “they can do.” those words rang so clear to me and have stuck with me through all my teaching and parenting. i always tell myself, they can do. babies/kids can do so much. so much more than you may think they are capable of. so much more than you may ever expect possible. try to always remember that “they can do” and i am certain you will find yourself amazed at their potential.
hudson, 3, speaks to me in a very mature manner. with phrases such as, “unfortunately they won’t be joining us.” “actually, i’m certain it’s a full moon because it’s one full circle and not a crescent.” the things that come out of his mouth amaze me and my husband every day. we are so proud of him and who he has become at the sweet young age of 3!!
beckett, 14 months, blows us away as well. already speaking over 40 single words, combining 2 words together “socks off, the dock, lights on” and many more. beckett can make over 12 different animal sounds when asked a specific animal and can point to and locate each body part when asked. as well as understanding and following many verbal instructions. i don’t allow food to be dropped during meal time and through some persistent training we have gotten there. that being said when he is finished he will drop a piece or two and say, “no no no no, mess as he shakes his head” i then ask him to get down and clean up his mess. he will crawl from piece to piece and put them all in my hand. don’t tell me babies don’t understand! hands down, they do!!
i have high expectations for my boys and always do my best to teach and talk to them as much as i possibly can. through this constant talking you will see your children excel. give them the language they need and deserve. speak to them like adults and give them the respect each child should be given. they are extremely bright little things with more knowledge than you will ever find imaginable!!
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