How baby talk is different from kid talk and kid talk is different from parent talk.

Talk, talk talk. Don’t we do that all day? However all talk is different talk, yet they are all meant to communicate a need. Each need varies, some may be a need for food or drink while other needs are for emotional support.

Don’t we all know someone that won’t stop talking? Well, that is for a very good reason! Either they are trying to build a relationship with you or they might be looking for emotional companionship or support. Talking, is how they understand they will receive what they need.

Baby Talk:

When a baby talks they usually mean to communicate an urgent matter, such as “I need a diaper change now”, “I need a drink”. Of course, their talk is usually in the form of crying. When they get older they will point to what they want until they can utter some semblance of speech. When it gets frustrating that a parent does not understand what they want, they will resort to the talk we originally understood, crying.

When a baby cries our natural instinct is to soothe and calm them. This usually has the desired effect on the baby. When parents or caregivers show that they care and look to minimize baby’s distress the crying usually stops.

Kids Talk:

As a child grown older, speech gets clearer and kids might talk more. Kids talk might be meaningless as they try out new words such as sharing that they are “nauseous” before understanding what that means or that they are” sooooo exhausted!”

However all talk is important! Children at this stage are learning new words daily and are trying to figure out the meaning. They want to see if they can say it too! In addition, when kids talk they are also expressing a need. They look to converse with their parent or caregiver to build a relationship with them. At times, it would be meaningless talk yet they notice if you are nodding along, asking questions and see interested. This in turn builds children’s trust in their caregivers. Parents should let children talk. Do not fill in for them unless they ask or turn for help. Let them try to figure it out on their own. It helps build their language as well.

Having toys or activities to model speech and communication assists children with their talk. Puppets, dolls, dress up clothes go a long way with helping children and kids talk. they get to mimic conversation, share experiences and act out various scenes.

Parents Talk:

What’s parents talk like? We talk to communicate, we talk to share and laugh, and we talk to foster relationships with those around us. Our talk is there to fill a need as well.

Whether we talk with our children to hear about their day or share what happened in our day it helps build our relationship with them. When we talk to a partner, friend or colleague we gather information, friendship and understanding.

However, when we talk to our children to tell them what to do that is not talk. Instructed our children to clean up or get ready for bed falls in a complete different category of talk. I would consider it semi- talk, the need is there to get the child to complete a task and do what you need them to do however it usually does not foster and help build relationships.

Talking has different levels. Make sure you talk the real talk to your charges. Talk, converse, laugh read and enjoy each others company, build your relationship with others in a positive talking fashion..

Remember the key rule:

“Talk builds communication and communication builds relationships.”