I have found, as my budding life as a father progresses, I refer to things in the adult world using baby vernacular. For example, I refer to a bottle as “baba.” Yes, this works great for Little A, particularly around feeding time. Yet, my co-workers give me the blank stare. Fortunately, my wife understands me perfectly.
PBSkids runs regular commercials talking about…talking to your kids. This helps them to learn and develop their own communication skills. I find irony in us adults who ultimately turn normal language into baby talk.
I don’t expect Little A to be fluent in three languages by the time he’s five. However, I ask myself if I’m doing him a disservice by speaking in baby talk. Will he master the English language? Will he be able to read that book his daddy strives to write? Will he ever find someone to start his own family using words like baba? Alright, I’ll stop there. Little A is only six months old. Fortunately he is a babbler.
My point here is those commercials on PBSkids are onto something. Little A responds when mommy or daddy says something. He looks, giggles, laughs, cries, and the best are the facial expressions. So talk to your kids. It’s that simple. Talking to your kids will help them in the long run. I would suspect however, as they get older, drop the baby talk. They do need to grow up sometime.
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The Dad In Me 
My wife stayed home with K, my oldest, and talked continuously to him and he developed great speaking skills early on. Now I am home with M and find I am taking a more silent approach. I am very in the moment, intensely observing and responding to his signals, definitely communication…but talking, not so much. It actually find it difficult. I will catch myself being silent for too long and start talking, but then without realizing it, I have gone silent again. Props to you for babbling away, hopefully your little one will be as fluent as K in all three languages.
Thanks. I think part of my babbling is also to show him interest. He can’t do much other than make noise and grab at things. I’m afraid of not being an engaged father I guess.
Three languages! That is impressive.
Thanks for reading!