Having a new baby is an exciting milestone in anyone’s life. When you’re with your bundle of joy 24/7, it’s natural to find yourself slipping into baby talk. But, as a recent Preply survey found, your non-parent friends might not “wuv” it so much.
If you’ve ever wondered what your child-free friends are thinking when you’re speaking “parentese,” wonder no more! In this post, we go over what baby talk Americans love most and which words make non-parents cringe.
Baby talk with pets and partners.
Babies aren’t the only ones on the receiving end of baby talk — we also use it with our pets and romantic partners. In fact, more Americans use baby talk with their pets (47%) than with their kids (44%)!
Whether we’re using it with a pet, partner, or an actual baby, the baby talk words we use stay pretty consistent. “Whittle,” “potty,” “boo-boo,” “night-night,” and “oopsie” are the most popular ones we use with our pets, while “boo-boo,” “tummy,” “wuv,” “night-night,” and “whittle” are the most popular ones we use with our partners.
Baby talk can be fun and cute when you’re the one doing it, but how it makes bystanders feel is another story. According to Preply’s survey, Americans are overwhelmingly annoyed by baby talk, with 69% of respondents saying they can’t stand hearing parents speak to their children that way and 56% saying it makes them feel uncomfortable.
Pet parents have a little more leeway when it comes to baby talk. Only 41% of respondents said they’re annoyed when people use baby talk with pets. So, for all you dog and cat parents out there, here’s your license to be cutesy!
What non-parents want parents to stop doing
Having kids is a joy, but it’s not the right choice for everyone. Becoming a parent doesn’t have to mean cutting out the non-parent friends in your life — but, in some cases, it may make maintaining those friendships a little tricky.
Whether non-parents have the right to opine about parenting habits is up for debate. However, in a friendship, things aren’t always that clear-cut. If you’re a parent and experiencing some friction with a non-parent friend, Preply’s findings might give you some insight into why that’s happening.
In addition to feeling annoyed and uncomfortable with baby talk, some non-parent respondents also called out the most irritating phrases parents use: “You’re not a parent, so you wouldn’t understand” (68%), “You think you’re tired now, just wait until you have kids!” (51%), and, “You’re missing the greatest joy in life” (41%).
Non-parents are also put off by certain behaviors, like when parents compare their kids to other kids (57%), always want to include their kids in plans (42%) and refer to themselves as “Mommy and Daddy” (30%). These may seem like pretty harmless things to be annoyed by, but it could mean your non-parent friend misses the relationship they have with just you, even if they love your kiddo in small doses.
Social media brings out some of the worst annoying habits. Of non-parents surveyed, 28% said that social media sharing has become so unbearable that they’ve had to unfriend, unfollow, mute, or block someone because they were posting too much about their kids. The worst offenders are parents who post their kids’ personal business (67%), share too many photos (53%), and brag about their kids (43%).
Baby talk sayings Americans love
Just because some people are annoyed by it doesn’t mean Americans hate baby talk! “Cuddles,” “dolly,” and “night-night” are America’s favorite baby words. “Night-night,” “tummy,” and “binky” are the most popular words in our baby talk lexicon and also the ones people hear young parents use the most.
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Some people might say they don’t like baby talk when they hear it from a mom or dad — but, then again, they might go home and tell their dog how much they “wuv” their “whittle” puppy. And while the cuteness may grate on some non-parents, it’s hard to deny the positive impact “parentese” has on child language development. For that reason alone, even the most annoyed of us can probably put up with listening to a few “cuddles” and “oopsies” without it hurting our “tummies.”
