You might have seen those heartwarming and often funny viral videos where parents or carers engage in long “talks” with young babies about this and that – usually just fun chit chat of no great consequence. They’re often very sweet, and it’s lovely to see the babies’ faces lighting up at the sound of their mother or carer’s voice, or seeming to talk back. In one, the baby appears to reply in an accent strikingly similar to their carer’s: So, what’s going on when we chat like this to babies? And is it better to chat to them in the tone and pace we’d use when talking to other adults, or is it OK to talk in a slower, higher pitched, sing-song voice? Here’s what the research shows so far. Talking to your baby matters When you speak with your baby, they are exposed to a rich tapestry of sounds and movements. Can babies make sense of all this input? Well, by the time they’re born babies are already highly experienced with their mother’s voice as well as other language sounds they’ve heard while in utero. We believe in experts. We believe knowledge must inform decisions About us In fact, research shows newborns prefer listening to the language they heard in utero rather than an unfamiliar language. They also prefer to hear the story their mother read aloud regularly in the final weeks of pregnancy, compared to a different story – regardless of who is reading it. So, although newborns are yet to understand the meaning of these words, they are already tuned in to the importance of language. Given the vast exposure that most young babies have with their parent’s voice, passively listening to mum or dad talking is likely to be comforting. Time spent together in close physical contact with a highly familiar person producing familiar sounds creates a safe, secure space rich in learning opportunities. Babies can learn a lot about conversational style from just listening to and watching the way their parent communicates. In fact, babies mimic their parents’ gestures, which can help build their vocabulary over time. The social context influences language skills. A dad presses his forehead against his baby's forehead. Time spent in close physical contact with a familiar person producing familiar sounds creates a safe learning space for baby. Photo by Josh Willink/Pexels What if I run out of things to say? If you’re not a fan of monologuing to your baby, don’t worry. They’re not missing out. In fact, constant exposure to long monologues by a parent is unlikely to provide the baby with a particularly supportive language environment for developing their understanding or production of words. Adult language is extremely complex. It takes a lot of experience with language before a string of sounds like “Yourdadlikeschocolatemoltenlavacake” can be interpreted as individual words linked to people, objects, or concepts. One of the most effective ways to support early word recognition and promote attention to the structure of language is for the adult to use a simplified way of speaking to the baby. “Parentese” is characterised by the use of higher pitch sounds, elongated vowels, and a slower pace of speaking. Real words are presented in a sing-song, happy voice. Parentese draws the baby’s attention to words, and highlights how information in speech chunks together. Babies have been found to prefer to listen to this style of speaking compared to standard speech.