I've always talked to kids like they actually have brains. I do the sing songy thing with babies because it just sort of naturally comes out
For infants, the sing-song voice is actually a helpful thing. It helps infants distinguish between conversations going on around them and conversations directed at them. I think it may be instinctual on our part (but I'm not sure)
http://www.talaris.org/spotlight_parentese.htmChris, this is exactly the way I handle my DD at medical appts. and I was wondering if other people do the same:
I was explaining the bulb makes the cuff fill with air, so it can press on the arm evenly and sort of tell how much the blood in the veins is pressing back. I thought, "I probably sound like an idiot, and the nurse is not going to have time/patience for all this.." But she was really nice and showed dd that, as well as where my pulse in my arm can be felt, and the big favorite, the stethoscope. I just now looked up the blood pressure meter so I can tell her a little more if/when she asks again.
