Supporting big kids who use baby talk…meeting their needs using a developmental approach.

A live webinar for educators and parents who care for big kids who use baby talk.

This webinar has ended. Please visit the parent/ educator resources page for access to upcoming webinars and other supports!

This one-hour webinar with Alice Campbell is for parents and educators who care for older children who regress to using “Baby Talk” in stressful or challenging situations.

Date: Saturday 25th March (Americas & UK); Sunday 26th March (Australia & Asia)

Cost: $15.95(Au) per person. All attendees must be individually registered.

Recording: The live webinar will be recorded for later viewing.

Baby Talk – Webinar Overview

Most parents and educators intuitively understand that Baby Talk is a form of ‘regression’. It is often observed as a child’s way of coping with stress – such as the birth or a new sibling, moving house or starting school. However, parents and educators can often find themselves uncomfortable when a child uses infantile speech. The reasons for this discomfort can be related to sensory changes in the child’s pitch and word formation. Another reason can be that adults sometimes feel ‘manipulated’ or ‘controlled’. One of the most common suggestions when this happens is to ‘ignore’ the speech. However, this approach does not address the root causes.

The Problem with Ignoring Baby Talk

While ignoring speech that makes us uncomfortable might seem like a simple solution, it can be counterproductive. By ignoring a stress-related behaviour, caregivers can miss the very opportunities that support the child’s growth. Specifically, ignoring and other forms of isolation can hinder a child’s ability to develop important relational connections, which are crucial for both learning and development.

The Alternative: A Developmental Perspective

Rather than ignoring regressed speech, parents and educators can use a developmental perspective. This approach seeks to better understand the behaviour and its underlying causes. In considering this perspective, caregivers can develop effective strategies to address each child’s own individual developmental needs.

Building a Road Map for Effective Response

In this webinar, we will explore Baby Talk from a developmental perspective. We will move beyond giving simple lists with one-size-fits-all ‘solutions’ (that may or may not work for individual children). Instead, we will build a road map to empower parents and educators to understand the needs behind this behaviour. By understanding this behaviour in this way, parents and educators can create a nurturing environment that encourages growth and development for each, unique child.

Baby Talk – Webinar Content

In this one-hour webinar, we will explore the following topics:

1. Understanding Baby Talk

• Recognising ‘Baby Talk’ – what it is, and what it isn’t.
• Understanding why this speech pattern tends to frustrate and challenge some adults.

2. Language, Stress and Vulnerability

• How humans use behaviours to meet their needs, and how these behaviours mature (or ‘develop’).
• Why planned ignoring doesn’t work.
• How to “read” regressive speech behaviour, and understanding the needs it signals.

3. Responding to Baby Talk at home or in learning environments

• How to reduce stress in language regression, using connection and attachment.
• The two types of information that help reduce the child’s need to use baby talk.