Baby talk revisited
Three-year-old Paige was explaining the colors on her shirt at Circle Time. But, when she mistakenly said "lello" for yellow, four-year-old Emily emphatically corrected her, "Not lello, say LELLO!"
While this story is cute, it offers a strong lesson about training kids. How so?
When we use Paige's incomplete language in talking with her, we unnecessarily complicate her development.
What we fail to realize is, she is probably hearing us correctly and thinks she is speaking correctly; she just hasn't yet mastered our diction.
- So, when we use her pronunciation, we actually introduce a new word that is more likely to confuse than help.
- In fact, Paige might feel belittled when you use her "baby talk". She may even feel that you are making fun of her.
- Then, when you ask her to cooperate with you in other ways, in the back of her mind, she may ask, "Why should I respect you when you don't respect me enough to use correct language?"
Of course, she won't explain her feelings that way. However, experience teaches us that children who live with full language develop faster and are easier to manage than children who are "coddled" with baby talk. Why? Because they feel respected, which greatly influences their behavior and overall learning.
We all want our teaching to be efficient. After all, communicating to our kids how to live is already difficult. Why complicate the process with words we won't want them to use in the long run?
So, here's our advice:
- From the beginning, use full words and sentences in talking with children.
- If you presently use baby talk, stop and switch -- cold turkey. Don't worry. Your child will make the transition more easily than you!
Capture those cute expressions in a notebook. Share them with your friends, but away from your child. Later on, share them with your child, but not while she is still using them.
In the end, your child will develop faster, correct herself more readily and be easier to manage. Why? Because you have made learning easier by respecting her with language that she will never need to "unlearn".
