this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] Hegar@fedia.io 188 points 2 weeks ago (12 children)

Baby-talk is a universal human phenomenal and almost certainly plays an important role in helping kids learn language.

The implication that not using baby talk somehow unlocks rapid development of language is simply not true.

[–] Ultraviolet@lemmy.world 207 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

But it's very funny to respond to babies babbling nonsense with "yes, I see, an intriguing point."

[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 72 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Another good one is to suddenly look frightened and stammer out h-how could you know that".

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is why the baby stage is so fun and the teenage stage is so damn annoying.

[–] i_love_FFT@lemmy.ml 36 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

You can always troll teenagers by using their words in slightly off contexts.

No way my parents did that accidentally!

[–] bisby@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This would drive teenage me crazy, fr fr on god.

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[–] jwt@programming.dev 38 points 2 weeks ago

Conversely, it's also very funny to respond to self-important adults babbling nonsense with baby talk.

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago

Kids perceive a lot more than we might think. I know my parents made lots of well-intentioned, passing comments that were nothing to them but stay with me decades later.

While I agree with you about the funniness, I worry that a kid might justifiably feel condescended to by that response and thus lose trust in the responder, an authority figure - especially if that figure is a parent, which is to say, a person they have to trust as an implicit safe figure.

I want my toddler to feel free to say anything to me, be it gibberish or a deep and well articulated philosophical point, and know that they won't be mocked for it. That's how they know it's okay to explore and, if they wish to, share their thoughts. Even if their thoughts don't make sense to me.

Teasing a kid isn't inherently wrong, but even before they're articulate, your response to their words - or gibberish - matters.

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[–] leisesprecher@feddit.org 64 points 2 weeks ago

Baby talk overemphasizes everything, including repetitions, that makes it easier for babies to actually get what you want and what all those cues are supposed to mean.

So yeah, kind of important, even though it sounds stupid.

That being said, there is a point at which kids should be taken seriously and communicated with accordingly. Some parents talk to relatively old kids like with toddlers and that can't be healthy either.

[–] Classy@sh.itjust.works 64 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There is a big difference between recoding "I am unable to do this currently because I am tied up with other work, ask me in a few hours" to "Daddy's busy right now sweetie, maybe later?"

and

"Aww whosa sweet wittuh one! My wittle girlie so preshusss!"

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[–] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Idk man. There's this 3yr old girl that's a child of one of our family's friends. She's pretty expressive with her vocabulary. Like i can have full blown conversations with this girl without dumbing much down, and i think that might be due to her parents' pedanticalness.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 37 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Children pick up language at different rates. But also, while most kids learn words and build up, some learn to deploy whole chunks.

My cousin could say "Excuse me daddy could I please have a cookie?" at like 2 iirc. It sounds very advanced when you hear it, but she couldn't, for example, replace 'a cookie' with 'that' or direct the request to me rather than her dad.

Once kids have learned more and more chunks they can sound very proficient, but it's still just normal child language acquisition. Of course people gifted in language can happen too.

[–] NielsBohron@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Also, no one is mentioning that there is still a significant amount of "translating" that has to happen. My kids all picked up language pretty quickly, but unless you are familiar enough with their specific pronunciation and vocabulary, it still sounds like baby talk to outsiders.

For example, last night when I got my 2yo out of the bath, he asked me for help putting on his favorite pajamas, if he could have a cookie, and asked to watch his favorite music video before bed, all in one sentence. But if you didn't know he pronounces pajamas as "comfy cozies," cookies are called "treat from under the stairs" and "hear wheelie rainbow neckshun" means watching Willie Nelson's cover of "Rainbow Connection," then of course it would sound like gibberish.

A baby's babbling can express fairly sophisticated grammar and sentence structure if you meet them halfway. And frankly, making it clear that you can understand them expressing their ideas in their own words is highly valuable when it comes to raising healthy, confident kids.

[–] Lemmynated@lemmy.zip 25 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

That’s because she’s 3.

Baby talk is for babies.

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[–] OpenStars@discuss.online 14 points 2 weeks ago (13 children)

pedanticalness

pedanticness ... OOOOOHHHHH!

img

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[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 37 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I think it's both true that baby talk is good for infants and that people infantilize children for far longer than they should

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[–] ReplicantBatty@lemmy.one 127 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I speak to my dog in complete sentences which was a mistake because now she knows every synonym for park, walk, treats, and any time we're referring to her even if we just say 'her,' 'it,' or 'the hound.' She even learned that any time we spell a word it's related to something she likes and she goes bonkers.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 73 points 2 weeks ago

"They're deliberately trying not to look like they're talking about me!"

"They must be talking about me!"

[–] BlueLineBae@midwest.social 36 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We had a dog once that was super smart and would learn what different words meant very rapidly. I'd say with most dogs I've had, you can go most of their life and they'll maybe learn 2-3 different words for "dinner" and you can use other words if you're trying not to excite them too much. But this dog I swear near the end of her life we would have to say ridiculous things around her like "Did you put the K9 cereal in the receptacle?" because she had learned just about every other basic way to say "did you feed the dog?".

[–] ReplicantBatty@lemmy.one 17 points 2 weeks ago

It takes her only 2-3 repetitions to learn a new word, it's wild. She's super clever but also the doofiest dog I've ever seen, it's hilarious

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 78 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're supposed to use baby talk with them from about 15 years old and until they're 18, to really piss them off.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

The little shits have almost certainly done something to deserve it

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 54 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This sounds like something from LinkedIn.

[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

If someone's toddler starts talking about how AI is a paradigm shift I'm going to dropkick it

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[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 51 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I have taught my kids to communicate with me solely via email, or via their lawyers.

The secret ingredient is unchecked alcoholism and rampant psychological abuse.

(/s, I don't even have kids)

[–] wolfpack86@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago

Denying their existence is totally on-brand

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[–] WhatYouNeed@lemmy.world 47 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o’clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out. When we got home, out Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!

[–] SOB_Van_Owen@lemm.ee 30 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o’clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I had to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain each day. And at the top, my liver would get eaten by an eagle. Afterwards the boulder would roll down and I had to start my work all over again.

But what do I know, I only see shadows on a cave wall.

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[–] Randelung@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You try telling that to the young people today, and they won't believe you!

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[–] zanyllama52@infosec.pub 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

According to Alfred Matthew Yankovic:

There were seventy three of us living in a cardboard box.

All I got for Christmas was a lousy bag of rocks.

Every night for dinner, we had a big ol' chunk of dirt.

If we were really good, we didn't get dessert.

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[–] Debs@lemmy.zip 43 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Here I am just crying back at my baby

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[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Not sure why this triggered a snarky response unless Ted is just waving a monkey puppet for internet points. Talking normally to kids is not rocket science, and it's not stereotypical yuppies desperate to get their gifted darlings into AP class. It's very simple - little kids can handle normal speech just fine, so why use baby talk?

[–] Echinoderm@aussie.zone 43 points 2 weeks ago (10 children)

It really depends on the kid and the complexity of the message. Young kids are still learning the intricacies of the language and building a vocabulary. Not talking down to them helps build those skills up. But at the end of the day, if the message is not getting across, it's the fault of the communicator.

Plus it's an annoying flex to say "see how amazing my kid is? It's all because of me!" Some kids just pick up language easier, some kids sleep all the way through the night earlier, some kids toilet train easier, etc. Usually it's better for parents to quietly take the little victory rather than treat it as a reflection of their amazing parenting skills.

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[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 36 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I avoid the baby talk with my nieces and nephews after they get past one year old. My oldest nephew said I'm his favorite because I don't talk down to him

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 20 points 2 weeks ago

laughs in condescending to children at a level they just don't comprehend

[–] bluewing@lemm.ee 33 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's one thing to use baby talk with an infant, (hence the baby talk moniker), and another to speak that way to a child that is actually learning to form words and construct a sentence.

Use whatever voice you prefer with your pets. Dogs actually enjoy the soft sounds of baby talk. A bit of brilliant manipulation of humans by the dogs.

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[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 32 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If you treat your kids like an adult they grow up to be one. We see plenty of example of people who are of legal age acting like children. Now you know why.

[–] TriflingToad@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago

It definitely works. They'll grow up way faster. Like they'll be out of your life 15 YEARS faster!
When my toddler son hit his sister, instead of giving him a 'talking to' like the parinting book suggested, I just called the cops. Now he's in federal prison all on his own! I'm so proud of him. 🥰

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Two notes from my actual coursework in education and psych; first, baby talk exists for a reason but it's the singasong voice that matters most, especially when they're picking up sounds. The funny thing there is you can say absolutely terrible things in a singasong voice and they will love it and remember it better.

Second, the arse in the example isn't actually all the way wrong, using vocabulary is important especially in that second and third year. I forget the author but there's some studies that show preschool vocabulary is directly related to parental education and they found it's because of the vocab the parents use. We're taking tens of thousands more words learned. Too bad I can't remember the author, just that it was four letters (and since leaving academia, my zotero is long gone).

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[–] Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc 22 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Me, a chinese that only use one syllable word for my first 6 years: ._.

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[–] JamesStallion@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Meh, Adam is obnoxious but correct

[–] Ledivin@lemmy.world 22 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Correct but obviously exaggerating. I'd love to hear his not-quite-2-year-old daughter "using" 4-syllable words 🙄

[–] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 12 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I’m not a wordologist. Do words become harder to say when they’re longer? I mean, alalalalalong has 6 syllables.

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[–] LurkyLoo@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Obnoxious, but also NOT correct. As another poster pointed out baby talk does serve a purpose in language development, and is a pretty universal part of child rearing. It's not some recent cultural phenomenon that's holding people bad from their full potential (or whatever BS this person is trying to imply). Using big words or skipping the baby talk stage doesn't lead to more rapid or better development.

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[–] Wilzax@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

As with most advice regarding early childhood development, your mileage may vary.

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 14 points 2 weeks ago

I was non-verbal for almost the first five years, so good luck with that mister “parent of the year”.

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