Before I start this article, I would like to say that my opinion, which is based on research, might be wrong. I found other research which points to the opposite of what I’m saying. I researched both sides of the coin, made an informed decision, chose my side and added my two cents. As with most science, there is often more than one camp arguing opposite points. So please don’t take this as the holy grail of information on baby talk. It’s only one researched point of view. With a very formal introduction out the way, here we go...
The other day I was at a place. I can’t really say where, to protect people (mostly myself – hehe) I noticed a family with their new born baby. A sweet little nunu bug. She could only have been a few months old. The parents really seemed to love their little bundle of joy, as was evident in most of their conversations with the child. Big smiles and the words you hear so many parents say to infants, "goo-goo gaa-gaa." Man that really irritates me! Studies have shown that talking baby talk to your children actually slows down the communication centers of the brain.
In one of the interviews I did for my book, an ex-teacher and now extra lessons coach, told me that the human brain needs to see a word two-thousand times for it to be imprinted in the brain. So parents, ask yourself: If I talk baby talk to my baby and only teach them words like "woggi-woggi-woo," is she ever going to learn real words which adult human beings can use to communicate with each other? The answer is “no,” just by the by, or rather, it will take much, much longer.
After the baby talk session, they pulled out the big guns: kissie noises and kissie faces. Now, I can see the benefit of showing your daughter kissie faces. She may turn out to be a hooker, in which case she’ll be way ahead of the rest of her class. It’s just what the prostitute on the go needs.
If on the other hand, you don’t want your children to become sex workers, talk to them as you would another adult. Parents are the people with whom children will interact with the most as they grow up. Therefore, if the parents aren’t teaching their children proper words, with which they will one day be able to use to build relationships, children will have less change of learning them.
Here’s another tip I learned during my book-research-adventure: stick flash cards up in your home. Write ‘window’ on a piece of cardboard and stick it on the window. Do the same with the door, a chair and other objects in your house. This way, when your children crawl around, they are seeing the words and associating them with the objects. Moreover, stop the baby talk and kissie faces. Your children will thank you for it one day.
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00904HFTQ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/215577
Web / blog: http://daniel-dinnie.blogger.com
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