dealing with baby talk...

Hey everyone,

Did any of you have to deal with family members using baby talk ALL of the time???

Kaylee and Wyatt were 7 months old yesterday and grandparents were over and still using baby talk...its worse than nails down a black board!!!!

I have mentioned this annoyance several times and other family members have made comments as well about this. They are little people and they understand normal english....i am at the end of my rope with this!

If anyone else has had to deal with this how did you get it to stop, I really could use some great advice from all of you amazing ladies

Thanks,
Chris

 

The only baby talk anyone does including myself is mimicking their sounds. Otherwise, yeah we talk to them like normal maybe with a little bit more animation and melody to our voices. But not googoo gaga languange. that would get annoying.

Just jokingly say "they don't understand that language, but they know English pretty well won't you try that"

 

Some babytalk is good. Studies have shown that "Motherese" actually helps children learn to speak better. (It's that sing-songy voice that moms get when they start explaining all their actions to their baby. It's good stuff. :good

Annoying babytalk where grown ups talk down to babies or worse yet the passive-aggressive Grandma talking for baby babytalk ("Mama, my butt's wet, come over here and change me.") really do annoy me. With the annoying babytalk, time is usually the answer. Sometimes a nicely said, "You sound really stupid when you talk like that" works too. With the passive-aggressive baby talk I respond to the baby but not in the way grandma was hoping. ("Oh no, you're wet? Why don't you ask grandma to change your butt since she's not doing anything right now?")

 

Incorrect grammar and mispronounced words are no-nos in my book. I have a friend that mispronounces her Rs as Ws when speaking to the babies (Pwecious instead of Precious)...drives me up a wall. Fortunately she isn't around that much. Sing-songy speech is o.k. because as PPs mentioned, it actually helps them learn to speak better (plus this music teacher loves it when kids start to use their normal high-pitched voices instead of trying to mimic low, adult sounds which causes problems for speech/singing down the road). Just explain to the offenders your research-based reasons for not allowing baby talk which includes incorrect grammar or mispronunciations.

ETA: Mimicking their sounds is really good for them too as PP mentioned.

 

I ditto all the above!
The baba/bubba (I dont even know how to spell that!) makes me crazy, the passive aggressive crap annoys the heck out of me (because obviously I am NOT doing something that is preventing me from changing a wet diapers this very instant!) and dont even get me started on incorrect grammar!

I have always been somewhat animated anyway but now I am more animated than a cartoon! My girls probably think 'normal' people are boring!

 

I would just ask them to please talk to them in correctly.

 

what really drives me crazy is that my MIL talks to my babies in the same baby talk voice that she uses for her cat!

 

"We dont talk baby talk to the babies, talk normally or dont speak at all, please" This is what I told anyone and everyone that ever spoke baby talk to my girls. It worked ardon:

Edited: it was said in a forceful, overtired, frustrated, aggravated mommy tone too

 

QUOTE(Chris02 @ May 7 2008, 05:13 PM) [snapback]760780[/snapback]
Hey everyone,

Did any of you have to deal with family members using baby talk ALL of the time???

Kaylee and Wyatt were 7 months old yesterday and grandparents were over and still using baby talk...its worse than nails down a black board!!!!

I have mentioned this annoyance several times and other family members have made comments as well about this. They are little people and they understand normal english....i am at the end of my rope with this!

If anyone else has had to deal with this how did you get it to stop, I really could use some great advice from all of you amazing ladies

Thanks,
Chris


We only copy the sounds they do when they are having play time, but that usually stops them from talking and then we start trying to get them to say other words. They understand way more with normal speech than they will ever get out of baby talk. baby talk just allows them to get the "jist" of real words.

I have asked several people including our daughter not to engage in that adult kids baby babble unless they are doing it first and are repeating it with them. but most of the time everyone talks to them in normal speech.

Good luck!
Meshell

 

QUOTE(Beth*J @ May 7 2008, 12:35 PM) [snapback]760830[/snapback]
Incorrect grammar and mispronounced words are no-nos in my book. I have a friend that mispronounces her Rs as Ws when speaking to the babies (Pwecious instead of Precious)...drives me up a wall. Fortunately she isn't around that much. Sing-songy speech is o.k. because as PPs mentioned, it actually helps them learn to speak better (plus this music teacher loves it when kids start to use their normal high-pitched voices instead of trying to mimic low, adult sounds which causes problems for speech/singing down the road). Just explain to the offenders your research-based reasons for not allowing baby talk which includes incorrect grammar or mispronunciations.

ETA: Mimicking their sounds is really good for them too as PP mentioned.


ditto ditto ditto ditto. I had to correct DH from starting that... do ya's want you's baba. Immediately response. You sound like an idiot and you are teaching the kids ebonics, awesome. That stopped that. Next day his mom walks in and says almost the same thing :blink: :nea: WTH. Agreed no baby talk... sing sing voice ok.

 

QUOTE(cohlee @ May 7 2008, 03:35 PM) [snapback]761290[/snapback]
I ditto all the above!
The baba/bubba (I dont even know how to spell that!) makes me crazy, the passive aggressive crap annoys the heck out of me (because obviously I am NOT doing something that is preventing me from changing a wet diapers this very instant!) and dont even get me started on incorrect grammar!

I have always been somewhat animated anyway but now I am more animated than a cartoon! My girls probably think 'normal' people are boring!


haha you crack me up cohlee

 

My husband had to speak to his mother and I think his brother as well for using "baby talk". We were at dinner when the twins were almost two and my MIL was pointing out the window and saying "Look at the beardies" (those are birds ) We had to tell her to stop, we didn't want them saying the words wrong. (If they do it on their own, fine, but if someone teaches them how to say something wrong :angry: Uh-uh!!