My daughter will be 3 the end of August & has been speaking very well for quite awhile. Most people can't believe she is only 2 because of her vocabulary & how clearly she speaks. About a month ago she decided to start talking baby talk again. I was a little concerned but I was told by her daycare provider that she is doing it to get attention which doesn't make sense to me since she already has my attention most of the time when she is doing this. Roughly around the same time her daycare provider lost two of her daycare children because the mother is now working from home. The girls were 4 & 5. Now she has my daughter who is almost 3, a little girl who is 3, a baby who I do not think is 1 yet, a little girl who is almost 2 & a little boy who is 5 (that started around Christmas time) which I never hear him say a word & my provider has said he is not where he should be to start school in the fall. I like the home daycare setting but I am wondering now that she is getting older if that is the right place for her to be. Should I be concerned? Is it really just a phase? What do you think I should do? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I love this site it is so nice to be able to get so many different moms opinions & advise. I would like to thank everyone for your help. I am glad to hear I am not alone in this battle & that is a normal phase & she will out grow it soon. I was afraid that she was sliding backward in her development. We are going to remind her that she is a big girl & that she needs to talk to us like a big girl or we will not be able to answer her because we do not understand what she is saying. Her father & I have talked & we are still going to move her to a different daycare because I have been trying to potty train her & her daycare provider asked me to put her back in diapers instead of working with me to get her potty trained. Thanks again for all your help.
I wouldn't worry too much it sounds like a phase. My Daughter will be 4 in July and she did that last year for a few months. I don't make a big deal of it just tell her I don't like her speaking that way and ignored her if she continued. She still every now and then reverts to it but I think it's because she has a little brother now.
Hi! Its our love for the kids that makes us care about these things. You must be a good mom. My 4 1\2 year old has gone through phases of acting baby-ish because it is fun to her to be spoiled (carried or catered to). I think little ones realize that there is a description called "kid" that doesn't get as much favor and they regress sometimes to hold on to being a baby. I think, too, that they sometimes are spurting in some other area of the brain (like dexterity, climbing, etc...) and they back burner some of their other abilities to focus on a new one. My brother-in-law quit talking after starting because someone made fun of him! Boy they are thinkers at this age. Maybe your little one is feeling anxious so all you can do is be consistent in your love and attention and eventually she will let go of her crutch. If you know the daycare is an OK place and you are loving her, time should help. On the aside, being with your mom cannot be replaced so you could consider a schedule change for you until she is a little older and in school-just a thought. I hope you can glean something from this. -L.
I think the advice given by Teresa is very wise and accurate. Your daughter most likely is apprehensive about growing up and further away from the comforts of being a baby. Praise her strengths and independence and give her positive reinforcement when she speaks clearly like you know she can. This will give her the confidence to know that you love her through every stage of growing up! There may be a few days or a short time where she is testing the waters, and may revert to baby language. Or maybe she does it more when she is tired and wants to be comforted? But just be consistent and encouraging of her growing up. I think it will work, and it will help her become sure of herself as she grows.
Good luck. :)
Ah! I'm right there with you. My daughter is 3 1/2 and has been on and off speaking like a baby for awhile now. I do think it's a phase. When she does it I just gently remind her to use her big girl words and she will. They will eventually grow out of it but I think for my daughter, she does it a little bit because of my 21 mos old and a little bit of attention. It does get frustrating because you know how well they can talk!
Have patience, it will pass! (or so I tell myself! :) )
my 3 year old is the same way. she talks like a 5 year old but then will babble like a baby to where i cant understand her. it is a phase they usually do it to be like their peers. i watch a one year old that doesnt talk yet and thats why mine is doing it. she even says in her own baby way "im a baby, waaa waaa".
My son will be 3 at the end of July. He also has a large vocabulary and speaks very clearly. He has started doing the exact same thing with the baby talk and he is not in a preschool or around younger children. So I have wondered what this is about. Perhaps it is an age thing and they are just experimenting. I've just handled it by saying, "that I don't understand that kind of talk, and to talk in your big boy voice." I try not to make a big deal, hoping that it will pass.
My son who is now 8 is articulate and had an excellent vocabulary at an early age also. Because of his reception of language he would immulate others--whether it was Max on Max and Ruby or other children he was around. I don't believe it's a call for attention. They are born with a gift and are experimenting with it. What worked for me was to say firmly "talk to me in a normal voice, like I am talking to you please". It only takes a few times and they will pick up quickly that they will not be answered unless they speak appropriately. Hope that helps!
Hi R.,
Sounds like your toddler has regressed due to her environment of being with little ones who can't talk yet.
Check around for a higher learning environment for your child. There must be some one that can provide you with what you need for your child.
Kids Priority One is a resource. www.kidspriorityone.org or ###-###-####
Hope this helps. Good luck. D.
I can't speak to your daycare situation. However, I suspect she is just experimenting a bit with sounds. Three was the age when my daughter started vocalizing randomly for lack of a better description - walking around the house making weird noises, screeching, moaning, etc. as part of her play. She also learned to talk in funny voices. I didn't think it was a big deal, but I did insist that when we were not playing, like at the dinner table, she had to talk in a big girl voice.
So, I guess I might consider if it is really regression, or maybe actually part of her development - is she really talking like a baby or is she just mimicing others? Sounds like the latter, which makes it a discipline issue. She can talk properly and is choosign not to because it is fun to talk like a baby. When she needs to communicate or be polite, just tell her, "no baby talk right now." Make sense?
I wouldn't stress too much about the baby talk unless it's constant. You could try sweetly saying, "Sorry, honey, I don't understand that kind of talk. I do understand real words, though! When you can give me some big-girl talk I can find out what you really want!" etc. I found that the "I don't understand you, we can talk about what you want when you can help me understand your words" approach worked really well with my daughter. Keep smiling as you say it and really act genuinely bewildered by what she says. She likely is just experimenting and possibly just thinks she's being funny; maybe the other kids at her day care laugh when she does it! Totally unrelated to the baby talk issue, which could happen anywhere and may have nothing to do with your child care, I do think you might investigate preschools for her. I found that a good preschool really helped my daughter be ready to roar into kindergarten confidently. Don't worry about having to have a super-"academic" one, though. Kids need socialization and direction-following skills way before they start on academics. If it's a good preschool, she'll be up to her ABCs,numbers and more before she's done.
I don't have any professional advice, but my oldest has been doing a similar thing. He will be three in July and has also started babbling and saying simple words and sounds. I have a 15 month old and we have been thinking that he's just miming the baby, especially since he constantly asks to be held "like a baby", and says he can't sit on the potty because he's "just a baby". Since the older children in your daycare left and there are mainly younger babies now, I would agree that it's for the attention that younger children get. She may get tons of attention (like my son does) but it's a different kind of focus that we put on infant/babies than on toddlers. As long as your daughter doesn't seem to have lost her language skills and is quite capable of speaking well, when you can get it out of her or when she wants to, I personally wouldn't worry about it. But I would also probably also call my Ped. just to see what they say. I hope that helps!
Well first off it looks like your provider might have too many children and your daughter is trying to get attention from her and you because of it. Me personally i think a at home setting is best for children before they go to school, unless you think she has a hard time fitting in with children and in that case i think she should go to preschool when she turns 4yrs old. It seems to me if she can talk than the reason she's not is either because of attention or because no one else is. But if she's got another 3yr old there that can talk and i would suspect Attention getting. I don't suggest preschool or a center (unless of course you have no at home childcare centers) for under 4yrs old because i think children do better in comforting settings and should have them for as long as possible. good luck
R., I would finish the summer and then get her into a
more educational environment..she should do real well...
Good Luck, D.
I am a SAHM with Arbonne with 2 children.
My SIL had the same problem with one of her daughters and she just reminded her to talk like a big girl and she came out of it after a couple of months on her own. I wouldn't worry about it.
Though I don't know for sure about your situation with the daycare, I can say that suddenly doing or wanting to do baby things seems to be popular at 3. A friend of mine who has a girl that is 3 and my son that is 3 are doing similar things. Neither of us get it and we spend a lot of time talking about not being a baby and how wonderful it is to be big.
J.
I think it goes back to the Monkey see Monkey do concept. If you daughter is around older children that she can relate to she will pick up on their habits and traits (good and bad). If your in home provider provides structured learning for all of the kids then I wouldn't worry about it she will be fine and the phase will pass. If she is providing care only and not an educational experience I would try to enroll her in preschool in the fall. If your daughter learned so quickly from the older children then she is obviously very intellegent and would probably excell in a preschool environment.
Best Wishes!
