I have 5 year old twins and within the last few months (since late fall maybe) our daughter has developed this really annoying habit of talking like a baby. she does not have any speech problems (in fact she normally speaks more clearly and has a bigger vocab than her brother). She goes out of her way to pronounce her r's and l's wrong. we remind her to talk like a big girl and we have pretended not to hear her until she talks correctly...but to no avail! it's driving us crazy and could use some advice.
I went to school with a girl who still does this. She's 53 and did it for attention she once told me. Now she's so use to speaking like this she cannot change.
My 3 year old son started that also a few monts back. We have tried everything you mentioned and none worked. Now, we spend a little more of one on one time with him and it stopped. I suppose his behavior was due to lack of attention, first you need find what triggers the behavior and go from there. Best of Luck!! K..
We had this problem with one of our first graders at school. We did confront her parents about it early on in the school year and it has improved in the classroom. We told her, very plain and simple, that we could not understand her. After repeating herself over and over she finally started to break the habit. Of course, at home, it is a different story. Don't feed into it!
She has now given her 'baby voice' to her stuffed animal puppy which is far more excepted by us as well as with her peers. It's fine to use the voice during play time but not when talking in conversation to others.
Hi L.! My 4 year old and 6 year old both are doing this as well as their friends at school! They don't do it constantly though, but it is kind of irritating. I try to ignore it, but if I can't understand what they are saying, I'll tell them they need to repeat that. I wouldn't worry about it so much; they are still very young. I'm sure it's just a phase and they'll grow out of it. It seems that the more they know something irritates you, the more they'll do it. God Bless.
N. L.
L., I am so glad you made this post! And it was wonderful to read the responses and know that others have this problem as well. Our 4 1/2 year old daughter also talks baby talk way to much and it is sooooo annoying! She has the ability to speak very clearly and normal, except she reverts to baby talk for no reason sometimes. The preschool actually approached us about it and said that it was becoming more of a problem at school as well. We are trying the "we wont respoond unless you talk like a big girl" technique as well, but that only works sometimes. She even pretends to cry like a baby, actually saying "wa wa wa". No tears, just the words. Oh It drives me crazy. Hopefully with persistance we can all overcome this habit. I surely dont want my younger one picking up on it, nor do I want to sit across from a teacher in 3rd grade with this being an issue. Good luck to all of us!!
my son is almost five and has spoken clearly since he was one. He has just recently started doing this and I thought it was because I watch my 6 year old nephew who has always talked like this. I am so glad to hear other people going through the same thing. I also tell him I can't hear him when he talks like that and it helps then. I think he has figured out he is not getting the attention that he was expecting so he has stopped mostly. good luck and I think it is just for attention.
We have had the same issue with our 5 year old daughter. She has a tremendous vocabulary and is very intelligent. However about 4 month ago she started "baby talk". I can say I have noticed this seems to be a trend among the other 4-5 year old girls in her preschool, not the boys though.
We have decided to not give attention to it. When she makes request for things she is refused until she phrases it as a big girl. However for play I allow her to speak as she wants. This seems to be working and we are seeing less of it so hopefully it is just a phase. Good luck.
yes my four year old daughter does the same thing at home but at preschool talks normal but i make her talk normal or she dont get what she wants from me or her dad i hope she grows out of it soon it really annoying when she does it too good luck
My darling yet sometimes psycho daughter who just turned 5 has also started this. She does this choppy baby talk. Drives me nuts. We tell her if she wants to talk like a baby we can treat her like one, naps, no candy, no dance. It stops it for that time, but she goes back to it later. So, no good advice as she still does it, but at least your not the only rider on the bus to crazyville!
My 5 year old also reverts to talking like a baby at times. I have noticed that she does so with adults she does not know or in unfamiliar situations (stress). Sometimes, especially with unfamiliar adults, she just won't talk to them at all, which makes her appear rude. When she is at school or at home she doesn't do this. I don't know if this is the case with your daughter, but I've started "prepping" her when I know she's going to be in a new or unfamiliar situation by telling her what's going to happen, who might be there, etc. Although this doesn't solve the problem completely, she does better.
When my boys were little, I couldn't get them to stop throwing temper tantrums on the floor so one afternoon, I got down on the floor and threw my own temper tantrum. I wasn't sure if it would work, but amazingly enough, it did! They were shocked and never threw a temper tantrum like that again.
As a side note, if becoming a mimic doesn't work, maybe you can make it a game and let her baby talk during a certain time each day and to make it even more effective, perhaps you could baby talk with her. She'll get a whopping dose for an hour or so then go back to big girl language.
Infinite Blessings!
Sounds like a frantic bid for attention. Maybe she
just needs some special time with you. To have her all to
herself. Why not set aside some space to take her someplace
special. I would assume she's in some kind of pre-school
or kindergarten. Eventually, her little friends will call
attention to her speech and she won't enjoy the negative
attention. This too will pass.
I promise you this is a phase and she will stop (eventually!). You have to continue to ignore her doing it. When the other twin speaks appropriately reward that child with praise or a sticker or whatever your daughter would be sad about missing. When your daughter speaks appropriately she too can get the reward. So basically ignore the negative, praise the positive.
It surely is annoying, isn't it! You are doing the right thing by ignoring her when she talks like a baby. However, she is getting reinforcement from somewhere else for doing it. It would be pretty hard to get her friends and her brother not to respond to her, so you will have to do this as the parents. Hang in there, and do not interact with her in any way when she talks like a baby. Make sure she is not getting any non verbal reaction from you such as facial expressions or exasperated sighs. If she is baby talking to her brother, calmly send her to her room. Good luck.
I have a 4 and 1/2 year old daughter who sometimes does the same thing. I tend to think that it may just simply be an attention getter. She also speaks very clearly on a normal basis. It more than likely is just a "phase." I know... I know... not much help but it probably is just something she is going through and will fade away into nothing. I have 4 children and only one has gone through the baby talk phase. I don't know what makes them do it but i try to not make a big deal out of it and am hoping like yourself, that it will pass soon. I would say that if she isn't in school, that once she starts this will definitely go away. Hope this is helpful.
it's for attention.
ask her "do you talk like a baby because you like to pretend to be a baby since babies get a lot of attention?"
then say "how about when you want mommy's attention, you ask her for it, like this: can i have your attention for a minute mom? that's how big girls like you say it." and do a couple practice runs.
that said, when she does ask for it, give it to her. once she sees that it works, she may drop the baby talk all together.
*ignoring her won't work since you didn't tell her what WOULD work.
I had the same problem last year with my now 9 yr old. He started to talk wrong because a kid in school didn't talk right. I explained to him that we would not ever answer him until he talked right. The only thing I would say to him was "talk right and maybe I'll answer you". I would only say it once then ignore him until he talked right. It lasted for a bit but thankfully he has come out of it. I also explained to him that his little brother looks up to him and he needs to set a good example. I told him that if his brother (18mo) started talking like that, he would be in trouble for it. Seems to have worked so far. Good luck! Shannon
i'm sorry i don;t really have any advice for you. i just wanted to let you know i feel your pain.lol my 5 yr old son has started saying "me want this" n "me wanna do that" etc.
i'm praying its a stage they go through.Oh n by the way telling her that you are going to buy baby stuff such as diapers bottles and pacifiers does not work.
good luck
For what it's worth,
My daughter went through a phase like this, at just about the same age. I remember being very concerned that her constant efforts to lisp would eventually evolve into a permenant part of her dialect. It lasted for about 5-6 months and just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. We basically ignored it and it did go away.
My 3 going on 4 year old is going through the same thing. He seems to pick it up whenever a baby is around him. Obviously an attention getting maneuver.
On the upside, my almost 4 year old talks normally at pre-school. He only acts that way at home. Perhaps see how your child acts at school or around other friends. It's probably just a stage.
I don't let my son have anything unless he pronounces things correctly. I give him all the love, hugs, kisses, and attention as he always gets. I'm now at home all day and only work my home-based business a few hours a day, so he gets tons of attention. Plus, I know he gets attention one-on-one at pre-schooll For me it's just a stage to deal with.
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My 6 year old son is doing the same thing. It makes my husband and I crazy. I think he is just trying to find his way in our house. He has and older sister and younger twin brothers. Being in the middle, I think he just needs some attention. Good luck, let me know if you figure it out. PS my brother in law is a graphic designer, what an interesting world.
This is becoming a common occurrence these days. Many many children I have spent time with are astounding me by both showing how brilliant and caring they are, but speaking with a vocabulary more limited than most have at 1 1/2. The closest thing I can relate it to in 15 years of experience working with children is a milder form of Asperger's, which in turn is a milder form of Autism. If your concern continues as time passes, check with your local Autism organization (the proliferation of these organizations has grown exponentially since cases are growing in direct proportion!) for testing or observation. A professional should be able to answer your questions about your child better than Ask.com (where i started searching for solutions)
My theory on the increase of Autism and its related forms is food additives, but that is a different topic in and of itself. Good luck and great blessings.
L. L.
I am a grandmother of 7. I have seen quite a bit of "acting out" . That is exactly what your little girl seems to be doing. Do you or your husband take each of the children on a one on one play time. I know you are a busy mom and life gets hectic, but your children will be gone before you know it. I suggest that once a week you take your little girl ( and daddy takes the little boy) and you set aside mommy/daddy & child time. It does not have to be expensive. Take a walk up the street, in the woods or even just to look around at the mall. She really is just trying to get your attention. For some reason in her little mind she is not getting just your attention long enough. I will guarantee to you that in a few weeks she will be a different child. Good Luck and I am going to pray for you and your family.
Whenever she talks like that, just say "If you want me to answer you, don't talk to me with that voice" There's really nothing more you can do, she's obviously decided that she likes pretending to be a baby, but if you're not playing into it, she won't do it all the time. Every child goes through a "whiny" voice phase, and when my kids did, I always said the same thing to them, "Don't talk to me with that voice", and the whines always went away.
