My very proper, very articulate 3 yr old girl has started an annoying habit. She baby talks. She can speak complex thoughts very clearly. There's no word that she has trouble with. However, recently she's started goo goo ga ga talk. She is the baby of the family. There is no new baby to compete with. There are no changes in our routine or family makeup. We praise her for being a big girl and she keeps right up with her 4 yr old big brother. They're best buddies. They have just started a soccer team together and she is really holding her own. Sometimes she corrects me if I call her big girl, and she corrects me if I call her baby. There's no winning with that kid! But back to the issue...she is getting on mommy and daddys nerves. You have no idea how many times a day we say - "Stop baby talking! No Baby Talk! I can't understand you when you talk like a baby. Your a big girl, use your big girl words." It's a habit for her to make annoying baby talk sounds and to ask for things in a babyish way. How do I break the habit. I know it's a benign phase. Nothing terrible, just annoying. And I know she will grow out of it. But I want my precious smart little girl back. Not this annoying little fart.
Thanks for all your positive encouragement. Sorry I made some of you sad?? LOL I swear you can't ask a simple question on this site without judgement. Some of you made some good, helpful points. I'm sure she is stuck between baby abd big girl and likes the perks of both. She chooses which one she is to get the reward of each. Ignoring is a good idea. I do normally try reasoning and retraining first. Since that's not working I will start ignoring. And perhaps Toddler was the wrong word, since she's a fearless monster soccer player! She's really intelligent and people have always remarked at her huge, sophisticated vocabulary and I guess I take pride in that and therefore am a little embarassed that she just started behaving like such an ordinary brat! But I love her dearly and I guess I'll let her stay.
Sounds like she's having a good time playing this game. And look what a rise it gets out of Mama and Daddy!
Just don't play. Smile and go on to other things. Choose not to react, and she'll get tired of it... and find something else to drive you crazy. That's part of a three-year-old's job description.
I think it is a sort of pretend play, which is a very good for a development. She pretends to be someone else and gets into the role. Just play along... see what happens.
My son gets into a cat personality at times. Acts like a cat, meows and uses his "paws" instead of hands. I ask "are you a cat now?" he meows and nods his head, so I scratch him behind the ears, pick him up and sit him on my lap and stroke his back. The game is usualy over soon because he wants to do something human and the "paws" are not useful or he needs to get up from crawling position. But we both have fun :) And I tell everyone to respect his play and treat him like a cat when he plays that game (very tempting for his brother to tease him at that time, which is a no-no).
Pretend play is a developmental step not a set back.
Teach her how a "good" baby acts, she will play along.
And you are right, she will grow out of that soon.
Treat it like whining.
I cannot understand baby talk, I need to hear your regular voice.
Also do not respond if she is asking a question with baby talk. "Goo, goo, ga, ga?"
Completely ignore that.
This is actually a normal phase.. but it is irritating. The less you stand for it the quicker she will give it up.
I am sending you strength.
Definitely treat it like whining.
Don't give her anything that she asks in that voice or tell her that she needs to use her big girl voice to get anything.
And I agree ignore any of the other baby talk.
My daughter is older (5), and used to whine here and there and once in a great while still does. When she whines to me asking me something I whine right back at her. She doesn't like this and gets the point. After I say "Isn't it better when we use our normal voices"
Ignoring is a kid's worst enemy. If she gets annoyed that you are ignoring, say something like, "Oh, were you talking? Because I can't understand your words and so you must not be talking to me."
Kids can be pretty divided about growing up. My grandson did this for awhile, also around three. I asked him once if he wished he were still a baby. "Yep."
Why, what does a baby get that a bigger boy doesn't get? "Cuddles, snuggles. More help. Not so many rules. More smiles." (I read into his reply, "more encouragement and positive feedback" from adult.)
So I suggested we play for awhile that he's a baby again. During play, he'd lapse into big-boy options, and I'd have to remind him babies don't get to do that. After 5-10 minutes, the game got old and he wanted to be a bigger boy again.
I asked him to use baby talk only when he wanted to play that game, and for the most part, he did. We "played baby" almostevery week when I visited him for a few months, and now, a year and a half later, he still occasionally asks for the game. He longs to get his attention/affection cup filled in ways he no longer quite believes is appropriate.
I also make a point of giving him lots of snuggles and encouragement. Baby talk seldom emerges outside of the baby game if he's getting what he needs.
"Annoying Baby Talk From My Toddler"....Wow!!! Maybe she wants to feel like your baby???
T. K,
I am very sad you and dad expect your 3 year old to be an articulate, “big girl” who does not annoy you when speaking. She’s not a big girl; she’s barely out of pull-ups.
The easy solution is to ignore any baby talk she speaks until she meets your adult standards. She will grow and be gone before you know it and by the time it happens, I can assure you that she will speak to her peers about her annoying over educated parents whose expectations she could “never” live up to, if you keep up the current pace.
Blessings…..
Yeah, it gets old doesn't it? My kids are going through the monster talk and puppy dog talk phase, but they do the baby talk every now and then as well.
I just tell them they can talk like that to play, but if they want to talk with me, it needs to be in their normal big kid voices.
React as little as possible, she's enjoying getting a rise out of you! As long as she doesn't do it a school or soccer, just for Mom and Dad, don't worry
My son started that when he was 5! I ignored it for a long time (almost a year) thinking he would just stop. Finally, I started punishing him (sending him to his room every time he started the baby talk). He quit very quickly after that.
Good luck!
L.
ah, my daughter has recently started using baby voice, which drives me up the wall. My MIL uses baby voice all the time and so does my Grandmother. I cant stand it. I'm frequently telling my daughter I wont listen to her unless she talks like a big girl, because I dont want her to be like her relatives and do it for life.
I would just ignore it. If she is doing it when asking for something remind her that she needs to use her big girl words if she doesn't don't give her what she wants.
Ignore, change focus, accept and move on, or stop showing your frustration? Is she by any chance watching a show with babies? Do you hang out with other babies in a group? Do you whine yourself when talking to her, or do you talk in normal tone/voice?
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Ignore her. Not easy to do but don't give her any attention when she does this, don't look at her and don't respond.
My almost 4 year old started that about a year ago and to this day she will baby talk now and again. When she does, we don't answer her and just say until she speaks like a big girl, we aren't going to answer her or give her what she needs. That usually does the trick. Either way, it's still annoying.
Good luck!
Wow.. I swear I could have written this post early today. HaHa. We do have a baby on the way, which would be my guess on why my 3 and 4 yr olds are doing it, but I agree, you can only take so much of it. I am a firm believer in speaking properly; so when I hear my kids ask their "baby" if it wants a baba I immediately correct them and say bottle. I don't know if I am right or wrong with that, but I guess I just feel at 3 and 4 they should be calling it the proper name. I do relax on the issue when they are playing, but after a while it does get old.
Sorry I don't have any real suggestions, just wanted you to know that I feel ya and right there with ya.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing your other posts.
just start ignoring her, like if she asks you a question ignore it, don't even look at her, until she asks in "big girl" voice. may make her upset at first...but not getting the response she's looking for....eventually she'll stop
Annoying little fart. Lol. I think all kids go through baby talk stages occasionally. It's for attention, I guess. My teenage daughter actually did it for a couple of weeks recently.
Yup, baby talk is annoying!! It'll pass.
