'Cutesy' language to baby

[Wick]

NC'd

DH keeps saying "feeties" instead of foot or feet and many other words to our 10 month old. I've asked him to use the proper words while our child learns to speak but he's carrying on anyway.

It's driving me mad, AIBU?

I taught her the real alphabet, then she went to school where she had to learn the phonetic alphabet and then the real alphabet all over again.

The real alphabet? As opposed the imaginary one?

It's far more beneficial for children to learn phonetically. It's not their fault that their parents were taught wrongly beforehand, and that the English language is bloody stupid anyway (in terms of complexity of learning).

It's amazing the difference teaching phonetics first can make in terms of teaching young children to recognise words. By sounding out words rather than spelling out the letters, my youngest can sound out small sight words.

As long as baby wasn't born in a nunnery, named Adam and has teensy-weensy little hoofikins or a widdle tail, he'll turn out fine

Oh you’d be horrified in my house

Feet= stinkys
Nose= sznose
Dinner= ninner
Bottle= bock bock
Dummy= num num
😳

Nah, I’m with you @Wick. I hate baby language and baby intonations. I talk to them so adult I do worry I’m a bit like Lilith Crane. 😳

@BogRollBOGOF 😆

If you’re worried about language development then please don’t. I use cutesy words with both my DCs in English and my DH does the same in his language. They do learn the “correct” words in both languages in the end. Using cutesy words or “motherese” is perfectly normal in all languages, not just English. It helps them learn the phonetics of the language(s).

I taught her the real alphabet, then she went to school where she had to learn the phonetic alphabet and then the real alphabet all over again.

Tried to scroll by.... couldn't do it.
@Fenlandmountainrescue the phonetic alphabet is real, it's not some fake system made up by the education system

Amazingly humans can learn endless words. It's not like they will get filled up with baby words and learn no more.

I taught her the real alphabet, then she went to school where she had to learn the phonetic alphabet and then the real alphabet all over again.

No, you taught her the names of the letters, then she had to learn their sounds in order to learn to read. Exactly the same knowledge, just acquired the opposite way around.

There is so much misplaced snobbery around baby talk from people who think themselves terribly clever and superior, when in fact even a passing understanding of infant language acquisition shows very clearly the important function of parent-baby talk.

I taught her the real alphabet, then she went to school where she had to learn the phonetic alphabet and then the real alphabet all over again

You sound like you think learning the 'real' alphabet is a better way of doing it and that learning the phonetic alphabet is a step backwards. It isn't. What you did was make things harder for your children. A child won't learn to read and write by using the names of the letters. It really isn't helpful at all to only teach children the names of the letters and it's not 'babyish' to teach them the sounds the letters can make. Crikey.

YABU. Baby talk encourages speech because we tend to make words easier for them to say, phoentically, and that makes it easier for them to mimic. I say 'cappy hands' instead of 'clap your hands'. With cap-py being the clap your. Much easier to say and she will learn to talk just fine.
The babies whose parents I know have banned all baby talk (including mama, dada, daddy, and mummy) have actually had delayed development in regards to their speech. Obviously that's not the case for all children who aren't exposed to baby talk.

It's communication that's important. You responding to your baby, and it responding to you.

They had this discussion in the Anne books and then she gave into it because that is how you naturally want to speak to babies. And shes right, yabu.

In our house they were always tootsies. Even ickle tootsies.😱
First teeth were toofie-pegs. And I’d often say the likes of, ‘Mummy love oo!’
(Would later say that to the dog, too.)
Dds still managed to get Russell Group degrees somehow.

Eyfs teacher here. YABU I’m afraid. As pp say all that cute babyish language is just what LOs need to master receptive and productive language. But here is a bock-bock get you through

There's a reason adults do this. It's good for children's speech development.
Not sure why it's up to you how your husband speaks to the baby anyway

My training is in speech pathology. A mix of cutesy and correctly articulated words is fine. However, you don't have to use them yourself if you don't want to. You say "feet," and let DH say "feeties."

We still call footed pajamas "feety pajamas," and my kids are in secondary schools.

I have never nicknamed their genitalia, though. It was always the correct terms. Personal preference.

Parents have been speaking like this for years and kids always learn how to speak! It’s a bit of fun- are you always this uptight?

YANBU- I can’t stand baby words either and it seems right to teach DC the correct words for items.

There is so much misplaced snobbery around baby talk from people who think themselves terribly clever and superior, when in fact even a passing understanding of infant language acquisition shows very clearly the important function of parent-baby talk.

This.

Plus, where would James Joyce be if he’d only heard the ‘proper’ words for things?

I have never nicknamed their genitalia, though. It was always the correct terms.

Did they say penis/vagina at a young age?

You need to stop being controlling and to apologize to your DH. It is his child too. You do realize that, right?

You can find it irritating, and that's totally fine, but it doesn't do any harm.

We use all sorts of horrifically cutesy terms in our house with our 1 year old and I would absolutely not like people outside of family to overhear but we just can't help it. We do use proper language but we also say peggles (pegs -> legs) and schnozzle (nose) and much much worse. Nauseating. But it's now part of our language so, oh well.

@Ohtherewearethen not that it matters but he still does this with his 10 year old niece.