Ask Our Expert - Preschooler Prefers 'Baby Talk'

November 08, 2009

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Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.


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Ask Dr. Needlman Preschooler Prefers 'Baby Talk'

QUESTION


Dear Dr. Needlman, My 2½-year-old daughter speaks very clearly and has an excellent vocabulary for her age. When she plays with other children who do not speak as well, she imitates their speech patterns. When I ask her to talk "like a big girl" she does, however she prefers the "baby talk." What, if anything, can I do to discourage baby talk? — Carol in Chicago

ANSWER	December 19, 2001


Dear Carol, Why discourage it? Your bright 2½-year-old knows enough to talk like the other children when she is around them, and like the grown-ups when she is around them (as long as you remind her). The kind of verbal flexibility she shows is really impressive. You may want to consider exposing her to a foreign language when she is quite young--she'd probably learn it readily. In any case, her talking baby talk is not going to slow down her intellectual development at all, and if you have a hard time understanding her, she can make her meaning plain when she wants to. — by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.

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