Is Baby Talk Bad?

Newswise — Is baby talk bad for your infant’s speech and language development? “Sometimes baby talk is associated with nonsense words and sounds and even distorts sounds of words, providing inaccurate models of the infants and developing child, this is not encouraged,” says Kathleen Czuba, speech language therapist, Loyola University Health System. “Research in the field of child development and speech and language acquisition instead recommends the use of ‘parentese.’ This type of speech has been shown to positively support the development of speech and language.”“Parentese” has been shown to have positive benefits when used with developing infants.

Here are some tips from Czuba to start using “parentese” with your child:• Speak in a sing-song voice. Change the intonation and melody with which you speak.• Use a higher pitch.• Slow your speech. Use elongated vowels and consonants.• Speak with precise pronunciation and accurate grammar.• Exaggerate your facial expressions.• Repeat, repeat, repeat

Address any concerns about a child's speech and language development or literacy skills with a certified speech-language pathologist. Loyola speech and language pathologists provide evaluation and therapy services for individuals with communication, cognitive and/or swallowing impairments. Patients range in age from newborns through the elderly. Loyola's experienced, certified and licensed speech/language pathologists are committed to speech impairment prevention, rehabilitation and education.