does this drive anyone else nuts?

Andrew's been in EI for some minor issues - late walking, some muscle tightness and toe walking. No big deal, but lovely to have all the EI services available. We've been going to an EI playgroup for a long time now, and it's really great.

Except that the staff talk down to the kids SO MUCH! They'll finish storytime and say "All done book!" or (my personal :bad: favorite) try to get a child to mimic something by saying "You do!"

I realize that some of this is probably geared toward kids with language delays, but I know that those kids don't make up the majority of the group, and there are special language-focused playgroups for them. It just drives me nuts! I never talk that way to the kids, and when I need to keep something short and simple, it's more like, "Ivy, please put your shoes on NOW." I use adult talk with the kids, and their verbal skills are off the charts - enormous vocabularies and very long, complex sentences. I can just hear my kids thinking, "Oh, come ON."

[/rant]

 

:hug: I can relate. That was one thing that bothered me too. :blush: I'm so not into the baby talk to kids. We talk to them as if we were talking to another adult. Sometimes more on their level, but that's rare.

 

I loathe babytalk. I don't mean the excited, high-pitched voice that is instinctive. I mean deliberate bad grammar or mispronunciation. If the kid is learning to talk, shouldn't s/he hear a good example?

 

When I read the title to your post, I thought you were referring to baby talk from the occasional stranger that stops to gawk/talk to the babies. That can be annoying, but I just brush it off because it's not a big enough deal (in my opinion) to waste the energy on. When I read your post and realized this is something that happens on a regular basis in the situation you described, YES, I would be annoyed. That's just ridiculous! I think that would drive me bonkers as well!!

 

Yes, that would annoy me. I can hear that stuff on TV too. Elmo talks like that and so does Rosie on Cailou. Drives me batty. :tease:

 

That drives me insane! We have friends whose daughter is four and still calls food "num-nums", among other things. :gah: I'm all for exposing them to more advanced language than they are currently capable of, to expand the development of linguistic understanding in their brains, even if they can't mimic it right away!

 

Yes, in that situation, I would be annoyed. I'd try to find a minute to ask the instructors why they do that, and if they would mind trying to talk to the kids with normal language patterns. I'm not one for conflict, but with my kids, I would and do speak out on things like this. They don't have to use long sentences or big words, but complete sentences with common words would be professional and appropriate.

 

That would bug me too. My DH and I have always talked to our kids the way we speak to each other and they are very verbal.

My mom and dad talk down to them and it drives us all NUTS! This weekend Meara was trying to ask my mom to take off the booster chairs from her dining room table, but my mom wasn't really listening and just replied 'Yes sweetie- its a HIGH CHAIR!' Meara exploded on my mom "GRANDMA you are NOT listening to me! That is NOT what I'm talking about!" My sister and I were on the floor laughing... don't try to talk down to my kids or they will call you on it!

Maybe you should have Ivy and Andrew talk to the instructor instead

 

Yeah, that would drive me nuts!

 

I am going to be the dissenter here [ducking flying tomatoes :ibiggrin: ].

My guess is that the staff were trained to talk that way. I can see why it drives you nuts, but I actually talked that way (sometimes) to my kids when they were toddlers, and I felt it was effective. I'm normally a hyper-verbal, very articulate person, and I do believe in talking to kids as if they are intelligent human beings. But it seemed like they just got me much better when I talked like that, at least at moments of stress. They've learned more complicated language just fine, but when you need a 2-year-old to stop bouncing off the walls and put her shoes on, it does (at least it did for us) seem to work better to say "Amy put on shoes" rather than "Come over here and put your shoes on now, please." I distinctly remember that I also said "You do" a lot.

So, I don't/didn't talk toddlerese to them as a matter of course, but I did use it strategically.

Anyway, I second talking to the staff about it. Either they'll be willing to change their ways or not, but you might get a better sense of why they do it (if they actually have a reason).

 

I'm betting the staff speaks that way because it's an EI playgroup. There's a lot of research that suggests very short, simple phrases are best for 2-year-olds whose language is still developing. That's because kids tend to imitate when they actually are able to do so. Your kids might be advanced, but it's not only because you speak to them like little adults -- they would probably be that way, regardless.

So, "All done book!" is actually appropriate for young kids, as is "You do." In fact, every therapist that Kevan has speaks to him in exactly that way. Granted, he is quite a bit behind in language -- and perhaps cognitive ability and general development, too -- but that's what he responds to.

Now, baby talk such as "Oooh, let's close the little book-wookie and go eat our num-nums!" would also send me over the edge -- I think that's ridiculous. But I think what you described is actually okay.

 

I'm with Becca and Alden on this one. the baby talk that drives me bananas is the "baby waby did a widow schmoopsie poo" type, not the telegraphic speech young children use, which as others have said proves quite effective in getting their attention--especially, when they're tired, cranky or on the verge of a meltdown...i tend to speak to my kids in a normal tone and with correct grammatical structure, though i sometimes pull out my "teacher voice" to get them to follow directions. when push comes to shove, though, telegraphic speech works really well. so, i see nothing wrong with this, but i can definitely see why it would get on your own grown up nerves

 

my kids are in the EI preschool and I must admit I am surprised to hear they are doing that . I have never heard them do that here. It would drive me crazy too! Maybe because it's my kids are older?

 

This is me too. I will speak toddlerese on occassion. Especially when I need them to stop doing something. For example, "no touch", "hands off", "no climb", "no throw", "feet on floor", etc... They seem to respond better to short, simple phrases.

Yep, this kind of baby talk would drive me nuts!

 

I know I posted a [rant] about how people insisted on talking baby talk to the kids. Dh's family specifically would not call things by their 'proper' names. Spaghetti was "sketti." Drives me nuts!!! IF you want to teach a kid to pronounce things properly, at least give them the proper tools to do it with first!:hug: to holly