As an educator with a learning disabled child, I can tell you that this is not normal and is a problem. Intervention needs to be sought very quickly so that your child can get the right help.

I enjoyed reading this article..
Iam a caregiver for an active 20mth old boy with 2 older syblings…

Thank you for this! My 11mo daughter has sounds that she just loves to make and hear! She’s not trying to communicate, she just wants to play with sound. It’s reassuring to hear that my gut was correct and playing her game with her is the right approach. There are definitely other babbles that I can tell she’s trying to communicate and for those I use language back. But sounds are very much also a game for her right now that she loves to play at “controlling” her parents 🙂

Yes!! There’s a reason parents do this intuitively- it’s reinforced by their babies! And it’s respectful to speak to kids in a way that makes understanding easier (it’s hard enough). Motherese also tends to put the relevant noun at the end of the sentence, and repeat it a few times- “Do you see the dog? What a nice dog!” etc. The syntax helps babies, who are trying to do statistical analysis on a massive wave of sounds, figure out what’s important. Using names instead of pronouns also helps.

Moderation and changing your patterns as your kids grow helps here- it’s great for kids to hear all kinds of language (but a 12 month old – who may only recognize 30-50 words – definitely still wants to hear motherese). And both adult cadences and motherese can be respectful if the speaker is.

Love your focus on respect!

What are the serious consequences if you don’t mind elaborating?

This sounds like my oldest. She was the child where you could see her thinking and processing everything. However when it came to doing she wouldn’t even try. She is 7 now and is still the same way. She is an extreme perfectionist and has been since birth and so refuses to try things until she is confident she can do it( I know that’s not how it works but that’s how her brain works). We had her tested for giftedness in kindergarten and unsurprisingly her results came back very highly gifted in all areas. The perfectionism and intense emotional responses are all part of being gifted and how her brain works. All this being said if you little is like mine don’t worry. When mine decides she is ready to do something new she goes all in and is extremely proficient in a very short time frame, even surpassing other nurotypical kids. You got this. Just talk to and encourage and I’m sure your daughter will pick it all up in no time 🙂

“Once their feet are firmly planted on the other side, at, say, four years old, many of the suggested behaviors in this article may be appropriate. Or with a child who already has always shown an above average interest in connecting with others, as imagine Ms. Lansbury’s children must have, otherwise I can’t begin to imagine how this ideology could have ever occurred to her, when it seems to go against our most basic instincts.” YES YES YES MOTHER.

My son is also 28 months old and the same. I want to know about your daughter. Any development?