It's important to understand that "baby talk," in terms of using a particular tone and diminutive forms, is necessary. Using shortened words helps the child learn to speak more quickly (e.g., "bi-bi," "la-la," "ka-ka," etc.). A gentle intonation promotes proper emotional development. The main thing for parents to remember is that their child is growing, developing, and expanding their horizons. It’s essential to stop baby-talking at the right time. When the child turns one, you should speak to them differently than in the first months of life.
It’s also important to understand that if you distort words or replace them with non-existent sounds (e.g., "good" as "goody"), this can harm the child. By 9-10 months, they are already saying their first simple words ("mama," "papa"). The child explores the world, observes adults, and absorbs everything like a sponge. They listen to how their parents speak, watch their articulation, and try to imitate them, making similar sounds. At this stage, baby talk can backfire. If an adult constantly distorts sounds, replacing one with another, for example, saying "malyf" instead of "malysh" (baby), how will the child know that the "sh" sound even exists?
Moreover, meaningless phrases like "coochie-coo" carry no semantic load and only confuse the child. It would be much more beneficial for the child if the adult simply commented on their actions or provided accessible descriptions of objects (e.g., "This is a ball; it’s red; see how it bounces").
It’s also important to understand that if you distort words or replace them with non-existent sounds (e.g., "good" as "goody"), this can harm the child. By 9-10 months, they are already saying their first simple words ("mama," "papa"). The child explores the world, observes adults, and absorbs everything like a sponge. They listen to how their parents speak, watch their articulation, and try to imitate them, making similar sounds. At this stage, baby talk can backfire. If an adult constantly distorts sounds, replacing one with another, for example, saying "malyf" instead of "malysh" (baby), how will the child know that the "sh" sound even exists?
Moreover, meaningless phrases like "coochie-coo" carry no semantic load and only confuse the child. It would be much more beneficial for the child if the adult simply commented on their actions or provided accessible descriptions of objects (e.g., "This is a ball; it’s red; see how it bounces").