What is the practice?

Babies love to hear the voices of familiar persons. Infants be- come especially interested in things they hear, especially when they are spoken to in interesting ways. Talking to infants using a combination of adult speech and baby talk can be especially interesting to little ones. Baby talk, which is often refered to as Parentese or Motherese, is a form of child-directed speech in which an adult talks to a child in a simplified, exaggerated, and repetitive manner. Speaking to your baby in Parentese will surely get your child looking and “talking” to you by making all kinds of babbling sounds. Check out the Parentese Dictionary practice guide for some other baby-talk ideas.

Mother reading to child

What does the practice look like?

Opportunities to have conversations with infants happen anytime you and your infant are together. Imag- ine a parent or other caregiver holding an infant in his arms. While the infant is looking at his father, the father starts “talking” to his infant, saying “You see Daddy, don’t you?” The infant begins to move and gets excited. “You hear me talking to you,” says the father. The child gets even more excited. The adult introduces baby talk into the conversation, saying in a slow and exaggerated manner, “Does little (child’s name) hear me talking? (Child’s name) is so, soooo cuuute!”

How do you do the practice?

How do you know the practice worked?

  • Does your child pay close attention to your face and mouth?
  • Does your child seem to know the difference between adult speech and baby talk?
  • Does your child vocalize and get excited as part of the conversation?
  • Your child should be in a comfortable position where you and your child can easily look at each another. Holding your infant in your arms or placing him face-up stretched out on your legs generally work best.
  • Start the conversation by saying anything that captures your infant’s attention (for example: “How is [child’s name] today?”) If you are about to feed the infant, you can say something like, “It’s time for [child’s name] to eat. Are you hungry?” It is best to use words that make sense in terms of what you and your child are doing together.
  • Follow your child’s lead. Watch for signs or signals that tell you your infant hears or is paying attention to your voice. Some infants get “bright-eyed” while others wig- gle with excitement.
  • Introduce baby talk into the conversation: “(Child’s name) is soooo cuuute. (Child’s name) is such a preeetty baaaby!” Speak softly and slowly, and then in a manner that exaggerates the sounds in the words.
  • Switch back and forth between adult speech and baby talk during the conversation with your child. It will heighten your infant’s attention to what is being said and will likely get him more involved in the conversation.
  • Don’t worry about the infant understanding what you are saying. The main idea is to get the child involved in the conversation.

Take a look at more fun with baby talk

Bottle-Time Parentese

Six-month-old Zachary is about to be given a bottle of water and knows to expect that his mother will be talking to him in a funny way! His mom is holding Zachary in her arms in a position so that they both can look at each other. “Is Zach hungry?” she says. Zachary looks up at his mother while opening his mouth anticipating the nipple being put in his mouth. Mom continues speaking in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, saying, “Yum, yum, yum! Zachary is eating like a good little boy. He loves his ba-ba doesn’t he?” Anytime mom uses baby talk, Zachary gets bright-eyed and blows bubbles with his water! The whole feeding experience is filled with a happy, back-and-forth conversation between Zach and his Mom.

High Excitement

Anthony’s father is putting his 6-month-old son in the stroller seat for them to go to the store. “Are we getting ready to go bye-bye?” he asks Anthony. Excitement spreads all over the baby—from head to foot! Anthony starts smiling and vocalizing while shaking all over. Dad responds by saying, “We have to go to the store to get Anthony some food for din-din. What should we get?” Anthony joins in and starts vocalizing at his dad who says in a high-pitched voice, “You are such a haaandsome little boy! Daddy loves you soooo, soooo much!” Anthony loves it when his father talks to him this way. The more animated and exaggerated his dad’s voice and expression, the more Anthony “talks” back.

Exaggeration Power

Evan’s father has figured out how to talk to his 7-month-old baby son, who has a hearing impairment, in a way that gets Evan to hang on every sound and sign he makes. No matter the activity (meal times, bath time, nap time, play times, etc.), Evan’s father talks to him in a high-pitched voice with exaggerated sounds together with big, exaggerated sign lan- guage. One of Evan’s favorite activities is outdoor play because his father acts so silly and makes slow, exaggerated mouth movements when he is playing in the yard with Evan. “Up in the tree house!” Dad says as he signs up and opens his mouth wide. Evan opens his mouth as much as he can as well. Both father and son are “hooked” on each other’s every move- ment!