Oh I probably am, but this drives me insane!

[Servalan]

Why does my DH insist on talking to our DD in wierd broken English - I mean really, why?!!!

For example, when something is finished with, for example TV time, I might say "DD, it's time to finish watching TV now."

DH will say: "DD, TV finish"

I'll say "do you need your potty?"

DH will say "do we need potty" and then when she's finished "pull up trousers" etc. etc.

Grrrr. She's nearly 3 FGS!!!



Sorry, rant over. As you were

[ReneRusso]

I don't think talking in simplified language does any harm, in fact I think it can help their language development. Adults tend to do this quite instinctively to babies, but maybe you feel your DD is too old for this now, so I can see why it might be annoying.

[chegirl]

Hmmmm

If it annoys you it annoys you so YANBU.

But this way of talking suits some children. Children aquire language at different rates and for some children simplifying language makes it easier for them to understand and copy ( over long sentance}

I could happily chat away to DD, DS1 and DS3 but NOT with DS2. Too many words confuse him and he just cannot understand.

We use as few words as possible in order to get our meaning across. This is the case for quite a few LOs. It goes against what we think we should do i.e. immerse them in language so they soak it all up.

This approach can have the opposite effect on some children and they will zone out.

[bred]

Lickle wackle used to make me clench my fists.

(= little rattle btw)

I get the proper names instead of pronouns, but think it should be dropped when the child is old enough to understand and use pronouns themselves!

Grrrrr.

[MaryMotherOfGod]

it's the universe's way of keeping mums humble I think

[Bucharest]

I'm also now remembering meeting up many years later with some ex-uni friends and He-who-shall-remain-nameless is there with his wife and child and it was all "We lub the teletubs don't we Mummy???????" "Tinkywinky says drinky juicy" and I'm thinking I have had sex with this halfwit..... and here he is pretending to be feckin Tinkywinky.

[poshsinglemum]

I am guilty of using the word putty cat. Now dd thinks that the cat is a putka and for that matter so is everything else.
I have learned my lesson. I just didn't want her first word to be pussy!

[Servalan]

EXACTLY Mollymom

It gets more frustrating when it's things that DD is perfectly capable of saying/understanding. It's not like he's pitching what he says at her level of understanding - he's pitching what he says below her level of understanding.

[LovelyTinOfSpam]

We do this

Daddy carry? instead of "do you want daddy to carry you"/"oh so you want daddy to carry you" is a typical one.

She's nearly two and her speaking isn't that advanced - thinking about it I think we do it automatically to build her confidence IYSWIM that we understand what she's on about and that she is doing well.

We do also repeat back to her adding the extra words in as well though so she will hopefully get the hang of it.

Bit of both is good surely - can see how it might be a bit with an older child but for tiddlers, really, it's just what you do, innit

[phatbooty]

I can't stand it when grown ups point at steam trains and calls them Thomas 'Look there's a Thomas"

[Mollymom]

YANBU it drives me mad too. DP asks DD what she wants for brek. Brek?!!??! Its breakfast FGS! And she can say breakfast. He also calls brocolli (sp?) 'broc'. He reckons it makes things easier for her to say!!! She can say all the words he shortens. Grrrr

[SoupDragon]

At their level

[SoupDragon]

Snort!

I think there is something to be said for speaking at their leave though. I often speak to DD (3) as if she is an adult. Then I have to rephrase it to her level and yes, often this is at the expense of proper sentence structure.

[Servalan]

this has been getting on my nerves for a while now

[Servalan]

...and why say that things are "finish"

"Come on DD, Pingu finish, dinner finish, drink finish, toys finish"

Finished, finished FFS.

[BlueBumedFly]

LOL Bucharest! Plastic tat thingy up his fifi, pmsl

[Servalan]

LOL Bucharest

[Servalan]

Ooh, crossed loads of posts there.

I admit that I have been known to say "Shoes. now!" I think it's different though when it's a direct command than when it is just everyday speech and she is learning how to structure sentences

[Bucharest]

Hmm, see what you mean actually- about the missing words....I was sitting in front of this family at a Milkshake Live horrorfest last summer and "Daddy" persisted in talking baby talk to the children (looked to be about 6 and 4) for the entire show..."Daddy love Peppa Pig....yaaaaaaaay, Mummy go Fifi house....yaaaaaaaay" Swear to God I wanted to stick my flashing light over priced plastic tat thingy up his fifi by the end of it....

[Servalan]

I don't have a problem with adopting family traditions around mispronounciations.

The moo cow stuff I can live with, thought it is irritating to me - it's the missing words out thing that winds me up the most:

"Daddy carry" instead of "would you like daddy to carry you?"

"sit on chair" instead of "sit on your chair"

"wipe nose" instead of "let's wipe your nose"

I just think that at 3 this is unnecessary!

[SoupDragon]

Oh yes, my DSs are 10 & 8 and I resort to "SHOES. NOW." regularly. eloquence just doesn't get through to them.

[Bucharest]

Missed Posieparker's post.
Nothing wrong with Let's put....it simply implies that the speaker is offering to help the child put his vest on and is expecting an affirmative answer, whereas Would you like means the child is getting a choice and can say no.

[BlueBumedFly]

Having said that we still have Meows and Doodledoodledooos, nip nips (crabs) lullilators (travelators), mulaka (milk) ... but she is only just 2 and she can say Delicious and Crocodile so nowt wrong there!

[BlueBumedFly]

PosieParker - I think that there is a big difference between a regional dialect and speaking 'baby talk'. The OP was complaining that her DH was possibly holding their DD's language progression back by speaking to her in broken English. On the other hand, your PIL are speaking perfectly normally for the area of the country they come from.

My DH is from the Midlands, he might say something similar but it does not mean to say it is holding DD back, more that she grows up understanding we are all different.

How odd.

Back to the OP, I cringe when people talk like this to my DD and give myself a good slap if I ever resort to it myself, unless of course I have said the same thing over and over and I have got to the stage of using single words to try to get a result.... DD... SHOES....NOW comes to mind

[Bucharest]

Because child language acquisition shows that using proper names like, Grace/Mummy etc sticks in the child's head rather than a "you/he/I" pronoun which might have a young child thinking "who is he talking about?"
The pull-trousers-up also a perfectly correct use of an imperative form for clarity and brevity.
So, yes, YABabitU - over grammar simplification, although NU about silly made-up words for objects which then just have to be relearned.