No More Baby Talk

March 13, 2009 by Nichole 

baby_talkHave you found yourself having more adult-like conversations with children than in the past? I sure have.

I’ve come across a lot of children who use

multi-syllable words: three-year olds discussing their future jobs, and five-year olds having intelligent conversations about why one cartoon character is better than the other. Oh, and my two year old, (you met Brendan in my last blog) recently asked me, “Where’s my stethoscope?” His Diego Rescue Pack come with a stethoscope for saving animals.

Let’s face it, today’s children are far more advanced at verbal communication than my generation (the 30- and 40-somethings.)

Why? Could it be the result of that shattered (only cracked in some places) glass ceiling? Or perhaps, it could be access to unlimited knowledge available on the web. Further still, could it be the abundance of television shows now developed for toddlers and elementary aged children?

Let’s start with that shattered/cracked glass ceiling. Because more mothers occupy executive and professional positions, the time for baby talk, “goo-goo” and “gaa-gaa”, has taken a back seat to more intelligible words and pronunciations.

FAST FACT: Women business owners are more likely than male business owners to embrace technology as part of their business strategy, and that twenty million women hold professional or managerial positions in the United States. (source: Enterprising Women Facts)

NOTE: “Goo-goo” and “gaa-gaa” has been found to be helpful with the development of a infant’s vocabulary. (To my fellow parents: There is no need for use of these terms with your toddlers!)

What about the worldwide (and seemly limitless) web? Children are not only searching the web for fun, they are also using the web for homework. Teachers are now assigning and grading homework via the internet. There is even a site, www.yourhomework.com, that caters to teachers and students, k-12.

FAST FACT: In a study of 1735 households with children ages 2 through 17, the National School Boards Foundation found that, “Once they start using the Internet, many children spend less time watching television; increased time reading newspapers, magazines and books; increased time playing outdoors; and increased time doing arts and crafts. The findings present a picture of American children whose involvement in a variety of activities continues and even increases–even as their Internet usage is rising.”

Lastly, let’s not forget about the many hours of television our children are watching. That same television we are so often told would stunt a child’s development or would cause attention problems. I still hear a lot about the attention problems children develop from too much television. While I agree, somewhat, depending on the type and how much television children are watching, there may be exceptions.

For example, Brendan, surprised me at 14 months when he could count to ten, easily. I wish I could take the credit, but he learned to count from Mickey Mouse on Playhouse Disney.

It may be a little of everything that our children are exposed to that create such intelligent beings; working parents with no time for baby talk, the ability to find any and everything over the web, more productive and educational television shows, etc.

Whatever it is, I am excited to see such language growth in our children. With widening resources, our children have unlimited potential.

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