Worried I’m not taking enough to my baby

[PoTayToes80]

My little boy is nearly 8 months and I’m worried I don’t talk to him enough to help his speech development. I talk to him when I’m doing things for him, telling him I’m going to make his bottle or during changing etc (“we’re going to take this leg out“) but I’m not constantly narrating our day. When we go for walks I chat to him sometimes but mostly I’m just letting him look around and enjoying having a bit of my own head space.

Does everyone genuinely do the whole narrate the day thing? I’m really struggling to get into it but starting to worry I will have stunted his verbal development.

Talking! TALKING enough.

I never did the whole narrating thing, I'm not very chatty generally and my 4 year old talks NON STOP!

I probably did the same as you, mine are very chatty at 5 & 3! Didn't constantly narrate. However we did a lot of reading and singing nursery rhymes from a very young age, these are things that will also help with speech development.

I didn't talk to my daughter non stop and I felt terribly guilty. She is absolutely fine now and never stops chatting, she is 26 months.

I never narrated to my daughter. I'd made me cringe. I just spoke to her as I would anyone I was spending time with.

Her language is great now, in two languages. I think narrating can be overstimulating.

I did talk to my son non stop and he is non verbal autistic. I really wouldn't worry. Narrating what you're doing is what's recommended. I imagine babies like a bit of peace too!

For comparison. I was very chatty and narrative and my DD has a speech delay! I think as long as you do speak to him for periods of time and interact in other ways that's fine. Hi baby shall we go for a walk? It's a bit cold let's put our coats on. And then out you go. You don't need to sit there and say wow look at the trees, can you see the cars? As you go etc. just snippets here and there will be fine at this age.

I talked non-stop and went to great lengths to structure a day of stimulation around naps. I think it's one of the reasons I was so anxious on mat leave and found it so hard. DC1 was a late talker and DC2 average.

Sounds like you're doing a good mix

I worried about this with my DD and whether it was my fault her speech is so slow coming. She's 2.5 now and it's only just really coming on.
However, I also have an 8mth old and he chatters non stop, shouts about everything and constantly making some sort of noise. My DD never did, so I assume the outcome would have been the same whether I spoke to her a lot or not.

I had this too when my daughter was a baby - concern I wasn’t chatting enough. My best friend talked constantly to hers and every time I saw her I was like goodness I don’t talk enough. However, it did feel tiring because it was something I really had to think about and put conscious effort into (I’m a talkative person in conversations with others, it just didn’t come natural talking with no response!)

Id personally say just do what comes natural to you. My daughters two now and doesn’t stop talking/singing/humming :)

One thing I did do is read her a book nightly from a couple of months, it felt a good way to verbally stimulate her without having to think on it throughout the day x

Thank you so much everyone that’s really reassuring!!

Telling her what you are doing when interacting with her, talking while playing with her, singing songs and reading books are plenty. Do people really narrate their entire day? Babies also hear other people speak, your TV shows, the radio in the car etc. DD1 was a very early talker but was also ahead in most areas of development and is academically gifted. DD2 is still only 1 and we've treated her the same and she is an average or possibly slightly delayed talker.

I don't think you need to talk constantly!
What you are doing sounds fine.

I think reading stories is important , even at that age. Share the book - point to the pictures, use expressive voices etc
Also sing to them - lots of the old fashioned nursery rhymes, action songs where you 'help' them do the actions etc

I'm not particularly chatty and neither is my husband. Our son had his first word before a year, so I wouldn't worry too much! It does get easier to speak to them as they get bigger and less babyish.

There are cultures where babies aren’t talked to before they talk themselves and their children learn to talk at the same rate as everyone else’s.
Be your authentic self with your child, do what comes naturally.