What is the practice?
Speaking Parentese is a way of engaging in “conversa- tions” with an infant that will have the child closely look- ing at you, smiling, and talking back to you. Talking to an infant in short, repetitive sentences while varying the pitch of your voice and making funny faces is about all it will take to get your little one to learn the joys of talking, inter- acting with, and having fun with interesting people. Par- entese works best when it is interspersed with normal adult speech.
What does the practice look like?
Imagine a child lying on her back on a blanket on the floor and her mother leaning over her. The mother starts a conversation by saying “Helloooo my sweeeetie. How is my baaaabeeee today? She says this while smiling at her daughter, making exaggerated facial movements, and moving closer and closer to baby’s face while saying “You are soooo cuuute. Are you mama’s biig giirrl?”
How do you do the practice?
Here is a list of some—but certainly not all—the “cutsie“ words and sayings that are often used as part of speaking parentese. Search the Web using parentese or motherese for other examples of baby talk.
How do you know the practice worked?
- Does your child look closely at you when you speak parentese?
- Does she smile, laugh, and get excited when you are talking to her?
- Is she vocalizing more during your conversations with her?
| BaBa (bottle) | Beddy-bye (go to sleep) |
| Blankie (blanket) | Jammies (pajamas) |
| Boo-boo (bruise or hurt) | Kissy (kiss) |
| Cutie (cute) | Nappy (take a nap) |
| Do-do (feces) | Pee-pee (urinate) |
| Din-din (dinner) | Poopy (dirty diaper) |
| Go bye-bye (leave or go somewhere) | Sippie (baby cup) |
| Hiney (buttocks) | Stinky (smelly) |
| Icky (disgusting) | Tee-tee (urinate) |
| Itty-bitty (little or small) | Tummy (stomach) |
| Upsie (pcik-up) | Yucky (disgusting) |
| Yum-yum (eat or meal time) |
Take a look at more Parentese in action
Delightful “Mommy Talk”
Four-month-old Lilah loves it when her mother talks to her. Her favorite position is sitting face-to-face on Mommy’s knees. Mom starts a conversation by asking Lilah: “How was your day? Did you get to do fun things?” Lilah almost immediately starts smiling and laughing while looking intently at her mother. Mom responds by saying “You like it soooo much when Momma talks to you. You are Momma’s favorite little girl. You are soooo cuuute. You’re Momma’s sweeeet baaaabeeee!” Lilah coos and babbles as her mother continues the conversation by talking to her daughter and sometimes using “baby talk.”
Tummy Talk
Andrew, age 7 months, and his mother play a game of Touch where her talking Parentese excites her son every time she talks silly. “Where are Andy’s pig- gies? Where are Andy’s piggies?” Mom asks. Andy starts kicking his legs in anticipation of having his feet tickled. Mom continues by asking, “Does Andy want a kissy? Does he want a kissy on his tumtum?” The more she talks to her son, the more he seems to know that his mother is going to kiss him and blow raspberries on his belly. Every so often, she uses more exaggerated and expressive baby talk as a kind of reinforcer for her son initiating or getting her to continue to play the game.
Prime Times for Parentese!
Lauren’s visual difficulties might contribute to her keen ability to listen intently whenever her mother or father are talking to her. Each parent has developed a particular way of using baby talk with 8-month-old Lauren, and she responds to each with delight! Her father uses do-do, icky, pee-yoo, poo-poo and other Parentese each time he changes Lauren’s diaper. The baby talk is used in a fun, expressive, and exaggerated way which gets Lauren to smile, laugh, and talk back to her dad. Mom has her collection of Parentese expressions for Lauren’s mealtimes. Lauren especially likes it when her mother asks, “Do you want din-din or your sippy?” She has learned that reaching for either will have mom feed her or give her a drink.
