Do you baby your child?

Question

My son is 21 months old and I’ve had a few people comment to me how surprised they are that my husband and I don’t baby him. And I kind of laugh because well, he’s almost 2 yrs old, why would I baby him? Ever since he was a newborn, we’ve always spoken to him with regular words. We don’t use the “baby talk” and simplify things for him because we want him to learn properly the first time around. I don’t speak to him like he’s a 25 yr old adult exactly, but I speak normally to him nonetheless.

So I’m just curious how some of you treat your own children….do you baby talk to them or do you speak normally to them? If you have had more than one child, and baby talked with one but spoke normal with the other, did you see any differences?

Just curious to hear other responses…thanks!

Answer 1

I HATE baby talk!  never ever have I used one with my daughter and it REALLY drives me nuts when my mother-in-law starts using it.  Oh, and I really hate when my father-in-law starts talking like "oh, where is that little nose?"...  my daughter is almost 5, for crying out loud!  We learned body parts by the age of 1!  I really don't like when my daughter HERSELF uses baby talk - I always tell her to use normal voice...  :)

Answer 2

We speak to our children.  I have never used baby talk.  I can say though that I have a tendency to baby my children sometimes, but I think our definitions are different.

Answer 3

I have 2 young children and have worked in child care for many years.  It drives me nuts when parents baby their children!!  It is not healthy for children to hear baby talk frequently and if mom does everything for them, they learn that they can't do things for themselves so they don't try.  Kids can do more then most people give them credit for.  It is very healthy to let them learn things for themselves even at an early age!

Answer 4

A little baby talk will NOT hinder their learning.

We baby our kids somewhat. We are always loving and kissing them. They sit on our laps and we rock them, cuddle them. etc ....  You should do that as long as the child wants to.

Answer 5

To be honest.. Yes I have babied the h**l out of my 4 daughters... baby talk and all. And guess what.??? so far they have all grown to be respectful and gracious young ladies. My 22 yr old is a senior in college on a full academic scholarship, lives on her own and has a full time job, my 13 yr old is in 8th grade and doing very well my 8 yr old is in 2 nd grade and is a competitive gymnast who is as determined and driven as any adult I have ever met. And my 3 yr old well she is still a baby in my eyes and is treated as such.. But I have no doubt she will grow up to be as well rounded as her sisters.  They know what they can and can not do and what I will and will not tolerate. Tantrums get no response and are not tolerated and I don't run them to the Doctor for every sneeze.. My 8yr old had her first antibiotic this summer and my 3yr old has never been on any meds except for her childhood Vaccines. I let them be children and I love and hug and baby talk to them still.

Answer 6

I don't baby either of my kids. If my 4 yr old falls I don't drop everything and run right over. I wait to see if she really is hurt. As much as possible we tell her to shake it off. Of course there are times she needs to be held and comforted and we'll do it ...but only when she is genuinely hurt.

And I wouldn't allow anyone to use baby talk around her. That absolutely drives me crazy! My inlaws tried to use baby words (and actually still do sometimes) and I have had to put my foot down about it. I think some of the words she has mispronounced over the years sounded cute when she said it  but I still would tell her the right way to say it. There's just no reason that an adult should purposely teach a child the wrong way...not to mention it sounds ridiculous for an adult to say the "blankie" or "chocky milk". Makes my skin crawl!

Both my kids are at higher levels than they should be. (My 12 yr old who just started 7th grade is actually scoring as high as 10th and 11th graders) I think it's in large part due to the fact that we didn't baby him.  And my 4 yr old and her best friend (whose mother does things the way I do) are the only kids in their preschool who can actually speak clearly enough to be understood. The others are babied and as a result they still sound like little babies.

So I agree wholeheartedly with you!