Preschool teacher explains how to ace the 'parentese' language and why it is crucial for babies

No one is spared from the cuteness that babies bring. It is next to impossible to be around a kid and not feel jolly. Now, think about how you communicate with a baby. You will often find yourself, at least trying to talk to a baby in a high-pitched, happy tone. When you think about it, it is more of an instinct to speak as mentioned when you interact with a child. However, preschool teacher turned YouTube and TikTok sensation Rachel - who goes on TikTok by @msrachelforlittles - shared that this is actually important and good for kids. 

Rachel shares child development tips most insightfully and is known for her videos and content on the platform. Posting the clip, she shared that the aforementioned way of speaking is called "parentese" and is rather crucial for your baby's initial communication stages. In her video, Rachel is seen demonstrating how to speak the parentese language. She started by saying, "Say hi in your normal voice." After this, she suggested adding a higher pitch to the word. As she demonstrated the same, one could notice the difference. Next, Rachel said, "Elongate the vowels," which in this case is the "i." There was a gradual shift in the way the word was spoken before these added effects.

Rachel mentioned that elongating the vowels in words with the high-pitch gives it a sing-songy effect, which may be commonly observed while speaking to children. Lastly, she said, "Add enthusiasm and facial expressions." Applying all the steps in one go, Rachel demonstrated the word "Hi" in the parentese language. She cheerfully described how simple yet significant it can be to communicate rightly with your baby. While many parents, family members and even strangers are known to use the parentese language with kids, many don't know that there's a reason behind it. Rachel canceled out a misconception many have that the parentese language is "baby talk."

In her caption, she said, "This is not baby talk." She further explained that the parentese language boosts a child's development and captures the baby's attention. It is presumably due to the sing-song slower effect that resonates better with children over adults' communication methods. She also shared that in 18 languages across 6 continents, many instinctively use the parentese language. Rachel also emphasized using shorter words and sentences to make the language easier for babies to understand. She also stressed the need for an enthusiastic tone and repetitive words that further aid the process.

She concluded her caption by saying, "Remember to talk to your baby. It will help them their whole life! Also, perfection is not the goal, love is." The video received 634.8K views, 40K likes and hundreds of comments and many were made aware of the crucial explanation behind the parentese language. Several commenters thanked Rachel for her insightful input and her approach in general. @kristenmnorris said, "My 11-month-old just got very excited." @ophiliawillistanislaus said, "My son's speech is delayed, yet to be properly diagnosed. He says and imitates everything from your videos. Gives me hope!"