They’re not respecting their pronouns.
Having your baby call you “dada” might be demoralizing for mothers, nevertheless experts say that moms shouldn’t take it personally. This so-called discouraging word will not be necessarily indicative that the tot is showing favoritism toward their fathers.
“It’s often tied to what babies are hearing essentially the most,” Stephanie Cohen, a speech-language pathologist and creator of “The I Can Say Mama Book” told Today of the seemingly mother-shunning trend.
This trend comes amid a flurry of frustrating videos depicting babies referring to their moms as “dada” despite their best efforts.
In a single TikTok video compilation with over 1.6 million views, various moms are seen saying “mama” to their tykes within the hopes that they’ll emulate their female guardian, just for the tyke to defiantly utter “dada.”
One other, with 4 million views, shows a mom imploring her baby to “please say ‘mama,’” prompting the kid to reply the identical way.
And while being mis-parented might be painful for moms, there are a number of reasons that babies might say “dada” before “mama” that don’t have anything to do with parental preference.
Diane Paul, director of Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology at The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, believes that the infant within the aforementioned clip could’ve simply been asking an issue reasonably than defying her mother’s orders.
“She sees Mama — so why ask for her? This reflects the suitable social use of language, referred to as pragmatics,” the tyke translator theorized.
Meanwhile, Cohen posited that babies often hear “dada” more as their moms are likely to discuss their male partners greater than themselves.
In some instances, the infant will not be addressing either parent but reasonably testing out their mouth, per the speech pathologist, who notes that it’s natural for babies to make “D” sounds.
“Then, when a baby says ‘mama’ or ‘dada,’ that adult lights up and babies start tying intending to that word … even when the infant was just exploring how their mouths work,” says Cohen. In other words, their so-called first words could actually be complete gibberish.
Then there’s the oft-disputed theory that “dada” is less complicated to say. Russian linguist Roman Jakobson found it’s simpler for tots to utter “m” (for “mama”) because they have a tendency to achieve this when their mouths are suckling a bottle or a breast.
That is disputed by Breyne Moskowitz, PhD, who postulated that nasal sounds reminiscent of “m” are conversely harder to pronounce.
Either way, because of positive reinforcement, babies eventually begin to associate “dada” or “mama” with the relevant parent.
“Progressively they start to know through repeated experiences that once they hear these words (mama or dada), it means their favorite person,” explained Cohen. “Then, because they notice that Mama or Dada responds once they and others use those syllables … many use those words with intention to consult with or gain the eye of their Mama or Dada.”
How does one get their pride and joy to consistently say “mama?” By making the designation synonymous with fun and humor.
“Whilst you’re drinking, take a sip (and say), ‘Mmmmm’ or … blow kisses … and make those silly raspberry noises,” Cohen instructed in an Instagram video. “Babies love the silliness of all this sound play. I also wish to do that in front of a mirror since it helps baby or toddlers watch you after which take a look at their very own lips and take a look at to determine easy methods to do what you’re doing.”
Meanwhile, TikTok creator Joyce Pring devised an ingenious approach to ensure her daughter’s first words were “mama” — by pointing to a picture of the girl’s dad and saying “father.“
