My son is almost 4. He speaks very well and most people tell me he is very mature for his age. He has a little sister who is a budding talker and he has a friend whos speech is broken and his voice is high so it sounds more baby like. After being with them (they are our best friends) my son talks like him for a couple of weeks. I have told him to talk like himself not like a baby. I have also told him that he will need to do time out if he talks like a baby.
What more can I do? It has been a month and nothing is correcting this behavior.
Don't overreact! Ignore it or say you didn't get what he said the way he said it. Be very nonchalant about it. It will pass faster if you don't give him negative or positive attention for it. He's at the age for trying out new things. My grandson (5) sometimes won't answer unless you address him as Spiderman or Peter Parker (S'man's real name, I guess). No big deal. The less you make of it, the better. It's not naughty, just experimental.
To be fair, this is the age that is really good for learning new languages, because kids absorb easily what they're hearing. Thus your son's speech. His little sister and his friend.
But you can maintain some control, I should think. Tell him that if he wants to talk to you or wants something he has to talk normal and you won't respond to baby talk with him. Add to it that he's going to be eligible for school but if he can't talk normal/like the other kids, the teacher won't be able to understand him and maybe he just won't be going to school until he stops this habit.
Hi S.,
Aren't the phases they go through wonderful?! ha I remember my daughter going through some phases where she would only talk like an animal, and it would seem to last forever. It drove me crazy, but it eventually passes and they are on to the next thing. Probably the more emphasis you put on it, the more he will continue to do it. I would do as another mom said and only respond to him when he speaks to you in non-baby language, and leave it at that.
Good Luck!
A.
I'd let it go. Whats to gain at this point in his life to make him feel inadequate. Praise him (mildly, not over the top) for his maturity and independent decision making, let the rest go.
Simply ignor the behavior. By talking to him about it, he realizes that he is control. When he finds that it doesn't get him the attention he wants, the behavior will fall by the way side. It is important to give him attention right away when he does speak in his more mature way.
S.,
It's perfectly normal and actually a phase in language development. Children learn how language works by playing with different ways of saying things. Sometimes they will change the first letter of a word or say things in a sing song manner. I just took a training course on it for my daycare. I wouldn't worry about it, it will pass on it's own. If it bothers you I would try the positive reinforcemnt for talking like a big boy that someone else suggested.
Hi S.,
I didn't have the exact same problem but my oldest went through a whining phase and I always said "I can't understand you when you whine. When you can talk normal I will talk to you." I had to say it probably 50 times a day at the beginning but it worked eventually. I don't know if it will work for your son but you could try it. Good luck.
Chris
Hey S.,
When my daughter started doing that I just told her that I would not answer or ingnoledge her unless she spoke like a big girl. When she wanted/needed something from me and I ignored her, she learned really fast.
Same thing here - I have a 4 1/4 year old who does this occasionally and it is completely normal. Just tell him that you can't hear him when he talks like a baby and this will clear it up. He is attention seeking and testing you. Pretty simple stuff there and nothing to punish when you think of it as a part of normal development. Your reaction (ignore until you hear his normal voice) will control his actions!
Maybe he continues to speak this way because he's getting attention for it? Although it's negative attention (putting him in time out and trying to force him to speak normal)it's still attention. is everyone making a big deal of the little sister trying to talk? (that would be normal of course :) ) Keep encouraging her, and just totally ignore him when he talks in baby talk. Personally, I dont think this is something worth putting him in a time out for, ignoring him and telling him that you can't hear him when he speaks like that should be plenty. Explain to him that his sister is learning to talk, so that is why she speaks that way, but he is older, and needs to talk like a big boy in order to help her learn better. if you make him feel important about his speech patterns, and tell him he can help his little sister out, maybe he'll try harder.
Good luck
Tell him once that you can't understand him when he talks like that, then ignore. Good luck!
Hey S.,
I know it gets annoying to know that your child is talking like a baby and you know that he can talk right but when my child does that I made him stop seeing his friends that talked like that and then I took the T.V away from him and if he plays any kind of video game then take that away for awhile and if then that dosnt stop then take to a councilor they always know best.
Dawn,
I have had this same issue. First off, it will get better. What has helped in our house: I let my oldest baby talk to the baby. I have explained (as well as you can to a 4 yr old.) how every one is different & how great that is. How we don't want to be just like someone & don't want to speak just like them. (as far as talking like his friend)
When my daughter speaks to me I ask her to use her big girl voice. Then when she corrects her tone of voice with me I make a big deal out of it. I have done this for months now. Lets face it we hate to keep telling our kids no, stop that, don't do that - so I just keep saying use your big girl voice. It seem to work, now I don't say anything to her if she babytalks, if she repeats herself in baby tone I will look as if I can't understand her & she will automaticly correct herself.
Good luck & remember this to shall pass.
Cyndi
I would stay witht he time outs and the other thing. but I would also explain to him everyone has there own way of speach and until his sister gets older she will be talking like that and if he continues to talk not like a baby like he always has he will show his siter how the rightway of talking is and he can teach her the right way. He can kinda help you. I would just tell him straight out how the situation with his friend is and if he can't talk the right way after playing with him he may not be able to play with him till he can just be himself. Good luck
