Why can't my 4-year-old baby call me dad? How can I teach my baby to speak?

As parents, it must be the happiest thing when babies babbled and called out "Mom and Dad". However, a couple recently reported to the hospital that their 4-year-old baby could not call "Dad". What's going on? How to teach babies to speak?

Yesterday, Qian Youqiong, a professor of pediatrics and a first-level expert at West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University and former vice president of the hospital, had no choice but to seek help. She told reporters that more and more parents who are addicted to their phones have led to more and more children with language development disorders being sent to the hospital for outpatient treatment. She is always heartbroken when she receives such patients.

"Everyone knows the story of the wolf boy. The child who was taken to a wolf's den after birth still cannot speak even if he returns to society at the age of seven or eight, because he has no stimulation from the language environment. Language ability develops in the early years after birth, under the stimulation of a sufficient language environment..." This is the content of an open letter Qian Youqiong submitted to parents through Chengdu Business Daily in November 2013. At that time, she had just noticed through her consultations that more and more children could not speak, and the reason was not hearing or intelligence abnormalities, but parents were addicted to mobile phones and neglected to communicate with their children.

Two and a half years have passed, and this phenomenon has not only not eased, but has increased sharply. Qian Youqiong met three or four children who could not speak in her outpatient clinic the day before yesterday.

She told the reporter that in 2013, she encountered three or four such cases per week on average; this year, she saw three or four such cases for every 50 patients she saw. And 50 patients were just the number of patients she saw in one day.

"I estimate that this situation will continue to increase," Qian Youqiong said. With the rapid advancement of smartphones and smart electronic devices, people are more dependent on their phones and spend more time on them. If this continues, there will be more parents who neglect to accompany their children effectively, and the proportion of such patients in outpatient clinics will also increase.

The day before yesterday, a 4-year-old boy named Bobo (pseudonym) was brought to Qian Youqiong's clinic by his parents and grandmother. His parents told Qian Youqiong that Bobo hardly speaks and can only say "Mom" now, not even "Dad", let alone other words.

After examining various parts of Bobo's body and testing his intelligence, hearing and other indicators, and ruling out all other factors that may lead to his inability to speak, Qian Youqiong concluded that Bobo had a language development disorder caused by lack of language stimulation.

"Are you guys playing with your cell phones too much? You don't talk to your baby much at ordinary times?" As soon as Qian Youqiong asked this question, Bobo's parents blushed and smiled at each other awkwardly.

"Sure enough, this is another young couple who spends more time playing with their phones than with their children," Qian Youqiong sighed inwardly. She had to repeat to them again and again: "Turn off your phone when you get home, don't play with anything, just play with your child, talk to him more, and teach him to recite Tang poetry..."

According to her, factors that affect children's language ability usually include mental retardation, hearing loss, autism, etc. But if these factors are excluded, it may be a language development disorder.

Don’t wait until your baby can talk before you talk to him. You can talk to him as early as possible, even from the moment he is born. Of course, this conversation is mostly conducted in non-verbal ways, such as carefully recording and distinguishing the types of crying of the baby (hunger, sleepiness, tiredness, fear, etc. each have their own way of crying), and responding and satisfying accordingly. In addition, as the baby grows up, the baby’s way of expression becomes richer and richer, and he begins to make various babbling sounds. At this time, imitate the baby, and he will definitely be very happy.

In daily life, when talking to a babbling baby, the mother (or other family members) often unconsciously slows down the speech speed, raises the voice and uses an exaggerated tone to say or repeat some short words or sentences. This is the so-called "mother talk". Babies are very fond of this because slow speech speed, exaggerated tone, high voice and repetition are the easiest for babies to understand, which can help them feel and learn language better.

Babies are "new guests" in this world. They are confused even about the most basic things like bathing and eating. At this time, we need to be good "tour guides" for babies, such as using a friendly voice and changing tones to tell the baby about the things and events he is facing. A natural and friendly language "tour guide" is very effective in improving children's language skills and is also conducive to their social development.

Become a "reader": The practice of many excellent families has proved that if you insist on reading aloud to your children, telling them more stories, and exposing them to excellent Chinese rather than traditional baby talk from the very beginning, your baby's language ability can develop to a surprising level.