Who’s a good reader? It’s you, isn’t it? You did such a good job.
Don’t worry, you’re not being patronized; that’s just an example of “parentese.” It's a speaking rhythm we all seem to fall into — even those of us with no children — when speaking to infants.
The unique inflection combines simple wording, exaggerated sounds and changes in pitch to command a baby’s attention. It is widely used in cultures across the world.
And recent research suggests that speaking parentese to your baby can give their language development a serious boost. In a study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that teaching parents how to speak proper parentese enhanced their ability to communicate with their infants — and even improved the children’s long-term language skills.
When you think of “baby talk,” cutesy — and sometimes gag-inducing — phrases like “goo goo ...
