Baby Talk

Don't give her any attention for the baby talk not even saying that you can't hear her. That is still attention.
D.

Good job telling her you can't hear baby talk. Speak to her in only a big person voice and quell anybody else family or friends from talking to her in baby talk. You are saving her from speech problems later.

Dear J.,
I think it is actually very normal for little kids to do this. Almost every kid I have known has done it to some extent or another. They get to a stage where they realize they aren't babies anymore and I think sometimes secretly wish they could go back to being one.
Both of my kids liked "playing" baby. They would crawl and lift their hands for me to pick them up, and say, in very animated fashion, "Goo Goo Ga Ga." I would play along, get a blanket, do the burrito wrap and hold them and rock them and sing hushabye tiny baby. And you know how kids that age are, after a few minutes of that, they were ready to get down and be off to do something else. I would say things like, "But little tiny babies can't go outside. (Or have crayons or jump rope or whatever). You better just stay here and let mommy rock you nigh nigh." They would get a big kick out of it and say, "Oh momma, I'm not REALLY a tiny baby. I was just pretending." And then they would be off to play. It was just a once in a while thing and only at home. But both my kids (who are 10 years apart) did the same thing. They DO outgrow it.
The baby talk thing can get pretty annoying and it sounds like you are doing the right things. I was a stay at home mom and my kids still wanted to play baby so it's nothing you have or haven't done.
If she is asking for something she wants in baby talk, try telling your daughter that little babies can't have or do those things. Give it a whirl.

Take care!

My son (3.5) is doing something similar. I think of it like he is "speaking his own made up language" and say "I don't speak that languag" or I say something in Spanish, just making a joke of it. He laughs and thinks it is funny, so I just keep it light. I think it is a phase, and if I make a big deal out of it, he will just keep doing it because this is the age when they want to push your buttons! Good luck, I hope this phase passes soon because it is annoying. But not as bad as some of the other 3.5 year old behaviors :-)

Keep reinforcing that your ears can only hear big girl talk. This is a phase...they realize that they are no longer a baby and it is kind of scary. At first praise her constantly for using her big girl voice. Point out how wonderful it is to be a big girl and the various things she gets to do now that she is a big girl.

If worse comes to worse, use a bribe...perhaps a bicycle or something because only big girls can have a big girl bicycle. :D

Good luck, J.!

--C.

My granddaughter did the same thing at about the same age. I handled it just like you have. I kept telling her things like I wish I had a four year old to talk to, not a baby. and that I couldn't hear her when she talked like a baby; that I was looking for my big girl, where did she go because I really prefer to talk to her. The baby talk got less and less and now she rarely if ever talks in baby talk. I do notice, however, that she does it when she's around her older brothers and wants to be babied. Hope this helps!

Hi J.,

This is normal at that age and will pass. In kindergarten, the whole class was doing it and the teacher had to ask help of the parents not to encourage it at home. Since then, I haven't heard her use any baby talk.

She's getting it from somewhere - grandparents, relatives, daycare maybe? You need to find the source before you can completely stop it. Your idea is good. You can always create a sticker chart with positive rewards only for using big girl talk all day, or for an evening, or whatever you set up. Just make sure it's only positive reinforcement. Never take a sticker away once it's earned. Good luck.

I'd keep up what you are doing (asking her to re-state it in a way so you can understand) and keep in mind that this too shall pass.

I became quite concerned when my son started to stutter and stammer really badly and a speech therapist friend told me that often that was indicating a language growth spurt. Sure enough when the stuttering/stammering passed, his sentences were longer and fuller.
I am not sure that babytalking falls in the category of language growth spurts tho, but maybe???
My own son who's nearly 6 and graduating Kindergarten next week sometimes thinks it's funny to pretend to be a baby, animal, or girl. (ok a LOT of the time!)

Sounds like your doing a great job! Just stick with it. We have the same thing come up at our house and I just ask the kids to repeat themselves in a normal voice. They never get what they want with a baby voice so they don't use it with us. Now in play with each other is a different thing. I think this has just taught them to be mindful of how they speak. I've had to do this with them over using certain words such as "like" to much. It just sounds awful when every few words is " like " .One of my pet peeves. R.

You're doing the right thing. Prompt her to use big girl words, ignore the baby talk, and eventually she'll stop. It's just a phase. :)

I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure she is a bright, creative girl and is just exercising her imagination with some creative play. (think imaginary friend)

Choosing not to respond to it is acceptable. I wouldn't discourage it unless she elects to speak that way 24/7. It's most likely just a phase.

The only other thing I can think of outside of what others have already said is maybe she is reluctant for some reason to be a "big girl." Maybe finding ways to emphasize how much fun it can be to be a "big girl" could be helpful. And part of playing out being a "big girl" is using "big girl" words.

This is a phase, as others have said, and it will come and go. My daughter is nearly 7 and all of a sudden she has stopped saying r sounds. She has always been able to say them, but now she is choosing not to. I simply say,"I'm sorry. I didn't understand what you said. Can you say it again so I can understand you."

This is logical, I think. She's ending her 1st gr. year and knows she's going to move up (literally) to 2nd grade on the second floor with the big kids. It's a change and change can be uncomfortable. For her, she's one of the youngest in her class and many are a full yr older. She's going to have start over and FEEL like the youngest. It happens every yr for her (Pre-k, K, and 1st).

It will pass.
Stephanie

Hi J.,
Excellent that you have discriminating ears, I seriously hope they stay that way. To back it up, remember only reinforce behaviors you like to see continue, so ignore your daughter when she uses baby talk, no matter what she's talkikng about, and pay loving attention when she uses big girl talk.

Most likely her baby talk will disappear if she gets no reinforcement or sastisfaction from this behavior. Of course, it's possible that she is immitating someone else and that she has fun with the baby talk. In that case, your lack of reinforcement will still work as she needs your attention and love more than she needs to have fun with her silliness. The thing to remember, when dealing with children and grwon ups too for that matter, is that all of us respond to attention and we are likely to continue behaviors that get heavily reinforced.
Best of luck, S.

p.s. if you want further discussion on learning theory etc, feel free to contact me at ____@____.com

My 4 year old tried that once with me. I replied with how many different things she wouldn't be able to do (or eat) as a baby. No junk food or sweets of any sort (ice cream and cup cakes like at a BD party), only mushy food to eat, no bicycles, no going on her favorite playground equipment, etc... AND that Big Girls DID get to do all of those things. I continued with "It's YOUR choice, of course. Which one do you want ?"

J.,

I think that you should be fine if you are consistent with telling her that you can only hear "big girl talk". If you want to let her do it for imagination purposes, tell her she can do it when she is playing by herself with her dolls etc. Otherwise, I would just keep doing what your doing.

Molly

The next time she does it then remind her that you can only hear the big girl talk and that you will chose to ignore her when she uses the baby talk. Then FOLLOW through! That's the most important part. Keep and eye on her of course so you know she's not doing anything stupid, but don't acknowledge her until she uses her big girl talk

You're doing exactly the right thing. One of the MANY brilliant yet simple things our daughter's preschool teacher has taught us is just to say, "I'm sorry, I can't understand when you talk like that." If you consistently don't respond to the baby talk (or whining!), kids get the picture pretty quickly, and will stop because it won't get them what they want. Make sure her care providers follow through the same way. Hang in there!