Parents talking to DC in third person?

[mountainwalk]

Lightheartedly enquiring about this...

Parents who refer to themselves in the third person when speaking to their child... Eg "Mummy is off to work now, Mummy loves you, Mummy would like some peace and quiet now, etc"? What's it all about?
I'm about to become a parent and I never understood this. Is it scientifically seen as good parenting practice, or is there any basis in psychology or linguistic development as to why this is proven to be a good idea? How did it evolve? Has it always happened or is is a relatively new thing?
I feel like I will want to talk to my child in the first person "I'm going to work now, I love you". But this seems to go against the grain of how I hear parents speaking to little ones.
Can anyone explain? Do you in fact do this?

I never did this, but I did experience my DM talking as if she was my baby DS. It drove me mad

It stems from teaching them as babies that your 'names' are Mummy and Daddy and then just kind of sticks I suppose.

I imagine a lot of is it just trying to teach your child the name for you. What I've noticed is that I use the word 'daddy' a lot with DD but my DH doesn't use 'mummy' very much, so I end up referring to myself as 'mummy' just so she actually hears the word!

Me/you/I is a bit confusing for young children.

Never have understood it!

When children are little, pronouns confuse them. How can 'I' mean Mummy when Mummy says it but Daddy when Daddy says it etc. I can't remember what age they start to understand pronouns but it's about age 3 I think. DS1 went through a stage of referring to himself in the third person too, and then experimenting with calling us by our real names not Mummy and Daddy. It's all part of the process of learning how the world works. It sounds babyish but it's logical and practical and helpful to small children.

I think I did a bit of both when mine were younger but I don't know why! I'm not sure when I stopped but now they're older I just speak to them using the normal I/you/me/we pronouns.

As above. pronouns are confusing for tiny children picking up the foundations of a language. "I/you/he/she" can be lots of people, mummy is mummy.

I do this with the children I work with. Many of them have additional needs, and it's easier for them.

I've never really noticed this (not saying it doesn't happen; just that I've been oblivious to it).I've always referred to myself in the 1st person.

What used to really wind me up when dd was little, was when my MIL used to refer to me as "Mummy" when talking to my dd (as opposed to saying "your mummy" or "your mum". I had to really bite my tongue because I just wanted to tell MIL that I wasn't her mummy.

I thought i wouldnt do it, but then i ended up speaking in the 3rd person to DD regardless. It was a weird instinct, i think so that she learns that I'm mummy. As PP said, pronouns are confusing for a tiny person!

I'm sure there is research that shows this is an effective way of teaching language.

Ex DH talks to DD (6) like that and it drives me absolutely mad. Daddy misses you etc. Surely I miss you is more meaningful?

Oooh this makes me cringe!! My MIL still does it with my DC and they are alot bigger than toddlers!!

I have always found it bizarre. I can't believe that "I" and "you" can be so confusing either. (Maybe he and she, fair enough.) They hear it from their earliest days, surely.
"Hi [name], are you awake? I'm going to feed you now. Let me just change your nappy... etc etc".
My toddlers have been well able to say "I done!" when finished a bottle or to call anyone in the extended family by their names from age 15mo or so.

I do remember little ds saying "Jonny do it" (of Jonny was DS name) and me replying "mummy helps?"

I hadn't realised until I read this but I think I do it may 50% of the time (DD is 9 months). Things like "shall mummy get your dinner? Can you crawl to mummy" etc. It wasn't a conscious decision though.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2020/feb/04/whos-a-clever-baby-how-speaking-parentese-helps-your-baby-learn-to-talk

I find it's just instinct and does, in a funny way, help small children to learn your name.

This is encapsulated by the beautiful story of the poster who said she always talked to her toddler in the first person and so the toddler didn't learn the word "mummy". When the poster picked her up from nursery toddler ran at her excitedly shouting "it's my yooooooou!!!"

Babies don't understand pronouns.

Once they know that you are mummy, daddy, nanny and grandad etc and that they are Petunia/Oliver etc then you introduce you/me/I etc.

There really are good reasons why things have 'always been done' in certain ways sometimes!