Baby talk or not?
Whether or not is the right thing to do is up to you. What is right for some is not for others. But what do the experts say to the question of baby talk? What do they say it does, and how does it stimulate, or halt development of speech in children?
The answer is divided. Some experts feel that if you speak to your child as if they were a baby it does not promote growth and maturity. There are many who say that baby talk hampers the child's ability to learn a full vocabulary and adjust to speaking as an adult, or mature being. They also say that it limits understanding of the real world, and pads the realities of life, which can sometimes come to a shock to children as they enter their peer filled world in Pre-School and Kindergarten.
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On the other hand, many experts say that it really does not matter what you say, or how you say it, rather, talking to a baby is going to stimulate learning, understanding, and speech much faster than not talking. The idea is that if you talk to your child, regardless of whether or not you use words like "bottle" or you say "ba ba" the thing is to promote interaction. Babies that are spoken to constantly, and that have actions explained to them aren't going to understand what every word means, but they do understand the idea of interacting with other humans. This interaction stimulates development in the brain, and helps children speak, walk, etc sooner.
There is no conclusive evidence supporting one way or the other. The biggest deciding factor with baby talk is the social stigmas that go with it. If a five year old child still talks in baby talk their peers are likely to make fun of them, and thus put a quick stop to it. While there is little evidence that suggests better or worse cognitive development, what there is evidence of is that once a child is two or older, continued baby talk will result in them talking like a baby for longer. Talking to a child as if they were an adult is as socially unacceptable as talking to an adult as if they were a baby. So, find a balance that works for you.
It seems that most experts advise that you talk to your child. When they reach the point of true understand it is time to tune down the baby talk, and turn up the variety of vocabulary. It might be difficult for you to change how you speak to your child, and if this is the case, it is probably better to never start baby talk because you might not be able to stop, and who wants to talk to their fourteen-year-old son as if they are a toddler?
What comes naturally is probably what you are going to do, so if you were talking baby talk until age seven, you will most likely talk baby talk with your child. If your family thought baby talk was socially unacceptable, you will too. The choice is yours, and the consequences are only negative if you let things go to far. Like any other area of life, if you use moderation, a little baby talk can't hurt. It might not help though either.
