why do this?

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“Parentese” is a particular way of talking to your children, which involves slowing down your speech, speaking in an exaggerated tone and giving pauses for them to respond. It involves using correct grammar, real words and phrases.

 

To a baby, adult conversation sounds something like this: "Doyouwanttohaveabanana?' The adult brain can insert boundaries between these words, but baby brains can't do that yet. When you speak at a slightly slower pace, she can hear the separation between words and sounds.

how to do this?

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• Speaking Parentese is not the same as baby talk. Babies don’t necessarily need baby talk to learn language.

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• Language learning can be initiated during daily routines, such as diaper changes, grocery shopping, or sharing a meal. You can talk about what she's seeing, touching, pushing, manipulating, tasting, and hearing.

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• Talk to your baby as much as you can. To keep things interesting, you can also use parentese when you are reciting nursery rhymes or reading a story book.

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• Enjoy your conversations by responding when she makes sounds back at you.​

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• Tips to practice parentese effectively:

  • Use proper words, but elongate the vowels - a truck is not just big, but it is ‘Biiiig’ and a room is not just dark, but it is ‘Daaaark’

  • Use high pitched voice and a rhythmic tone

  • Use shorter sentences and speak slowly

  • Take pauses to give the baby a chance to process what you are saying

  • Use clear pronunciations and stress differently on confusing words

  • Keep an eye contact and keep on a smile

  • Use exaggerated facial expressions - widen or squint your eyes, cringe your nose, or raise eyebrows to stress on the emotions

  • Count things out loud for her - it's not too early to start working on numbers

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