"If you see me in public strolling through the aisles of Old Navy, don’t be alarmed if you witness me asking my baby for his opinion of the dress I’m holding in front of him. He may be a baby, but talking to him through our everyday life isn’t out of the ordinary. From asking him how his sleep was to telling him what I’m making him for dinner to singing my rendition of “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift to him before bedtime, my baby gets to hear me talk a lot throughout the day. And I’m not the only one.
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Alex Bennett (@justalexbennett), a mom and podcast host of Two Parents & A Podcast, has been posting her conversations with her 6-month-old daughter, Tate, on TikTok. The duo—mostly Bennett—talk about anything and everything. And, understandably, Bennett’s sweet daily narration to her daughter is catching people’s attention. One of her many videos has garnered over 13 million views with thousands of comments. Not only is their interaction adorable, but talking to your baby is great for their brain development. We reached out to Lauren Magee, a speech-language pathologist from the June Shelton School and Evaluation Center, to explain why talking to your baby is important for their brain development, how you can talk to your baby, and what you can talk to them about.
Lauren Magee, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lauren is a speech-language pathologist who has spent the last decade supporting students with learning differences at the June Shelton School in Dallas, TX. She is passionate about making communication more accessible, meaningful, and confidence-boosting for every child she works with. Whether she’s helping a student find the right words in the classroom or guiding a parent through early language milestones at home, her mission is the same: to support growth through connection.
The Viral Videos of a Mom Talking to Her Baby
In one of Bennett’s many videos of her talking to her daughter, one Instagram user, @lov3destiny, says, “This might actually be helping MY development 😭.” Bennett begins telling Tate, “It’s your daddy’s birthday, but the thing about birthdays is the year you turn is actually the year you just completed, which makes no sense.” Bennett then goes on to discuss the chocolate cake she’s baking, the New Balance shoes she bought her husband as a gift, and the steak birthday dinner they’re having that night.
Talking to Your Baby Can Help Brain Development
In other videos, Bennett can be seen talking to her daughter about turning 6 months old and telling her that a babysitter is coming over to watch her. So besides the cuteness overload, is there anything that Bennett’s daughter is learning through these conversations? Apparently, so. From day one, Magee says that babies are like little sponges. They’re soaking up all the sounds, rhythms, and meanings of words “long before they ever say their first one.” One Instagram user, @brunette.adora, commented, “this is actually the best way to stimulate proper language development in babies,” and she’s right. You’re creating “millions of neural connections” when talking to your newborn, says Magee. Talking to them helps them recognize different sounds, build attention and problem-solving skills, support emotional regulation, and learn how to process and produce language.
Conversation Starters with Your Baby
I’m not going to lie, talking to a newborn can feel a little “silly” at first, especially since they can’t “talk” back. But the lack of “talking” doesn’t mean that a baby isn’t communicating. Babies communicate through crying, like when they’re hungry or tired. They eventually coo, babble, and communicate through body language, too. Magee adds that demonstrating a variety of gestures, facial expressions, and words helps develop their communication skills. Other than narrating your day, Magee says you can label and describe things to your newborn, like saying, “Look at the blue ball. The ball is rolling. Roll, roll, roll!” Still not sure what to talk to your newborn about? One Reddit user, @thedeluxedition, asked what people talk to their babies about, and people responded. Here are a few topics of conversation to get you started:
Topics to Talk to Your Newborn About:
- Your daily routine
- What you are doing
- Facts about your baby
- Your baby’s zodiac sign
- How you chose your baby’s name
- Tell your baby about yourself
- Tell them affirmations
- What you are feeling
- The details of your job
- Plots to Disney movies
- What you are cooking or eating
- The moment you found out you were pregnant
- Give history lessons
- Look out the window and talk about what you see
- How you and your partner met
- Stories about family members
- Read funny Reddit comments
- The weather
- Objects you see in front of you
- Your favorite songs
- What you’re looking forward to for the day
- What your baby is wearing
- How much you love them
- Point out colors
- Pretend to play “I Spy”
- Narrate the TV show you are currently watching
One Reddit user, @Mariaa1994, made a great suggestion and said, “I pretended I was vlogging my whole day, talking to an invisible camera 😆.” Another comment read, “My favorite way is by playing what I call ‘spill the tea.’ When he’s babbling away, I pretend he’s telling me some hot gossip and make up silly stories that he’s telling me.”
How to Talk to Your Newborn
“There isn’t one right way to talk to your baby,” says Magee, but using “infant-directed speech,” which is also known as “motherese,” “parentese,” or “baby talk,” or a “sing-songy” style can be a helpful tool to boost your child’s language skills. The way Ms. Rachel speaks with a slow, high-pitched, and exaggerated voice totally makes sense now. Magee says that Ms. Rachel’s simplified vocabulary and sing-songy style captures your baby’s attention and “gives your baby many opportunities to hear words and associate them with a variety of contexts.” No wonder kids (and parents) love Ms. Rachel so much. If you’re not a fan of the “baby talk,” that’s OK. You can definitely talk to your baby like Bennett does. One TikTok user, @Eija, doesn’t like the baby talk either and commented, “People using baby talk drive me crazy.” Reading and singing to your baby is great too!
Final Thoughts on How to Talk to a Newborn
TikTok user @jakubslavianski commented on Bennett’s post, saying, “This mother and her TikToks will single handedly make motherhood cool again.” I have to add—motherhood has always been cool, but it’s nice to know someone thinks so, too. As far as the baby talk, I’m like TikTok user, @n.k.nataniel, who likes Bennett’s “casual voice and relaxed tone.” For Gilmore Girls fans, @taylorjohns727 said, “I imagine this is how Lorelai spoke to Rory [as a baby].” It really is fun to watch Bennett and Tate bond through these videos. @lovelylinda.42069 commented, “just a heads up I had my daughter in 2020 and I talked to her the same way and now we gossip all the time and she has amazing communication skills and she’s almost 5 🥰.” How sweet is that? Well, I have to go watch another episode of the Alex Bennett and Tate show. Like @_.mxedits._ said, “Quiet everyone. My favorite show is on.”
Patty Schepel, Editorial Assistant
As the editorial assistant, Patty works with The Everymom’s team on pitches, creating original articles, updating existing content, photo sourcing, writing shopping product descriptions, inputting freelance articles, and more. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family, training for half marathons—she ran one 16 weeks pregnant—traveling, cooking, reading a rom-com, and keeping her sourdough starter, Rose, alive.