New research has pinpointed the differences between how mums and dads interact with their infants and has revealed how their chats with their still non-verbal children change depending on whether they are girls or boys.
Dr. Betty Vohr, reporting in the Paediatrics journal, attached recording equipment to children who were in hospital having just been born and then again 44 weeks and seven months later, monitoring what happened when they made their general babbling baby noises in the presence of their parents.
Mums were found to respond to the gurgles between 88 and 94% of the time, with dads only verbally responding on 27 to 33% occasions. The 3,000 hours of recordings also demonstrated that mums were more likely to respond to baby girls with dads interacting more with boys. Dr. Vohr concluded, unsurprisingly, that it is better to talk to your offspring than not. Earth shattering.
And you thought the old comedy cliche about phoning home and only ever talking to your dad when he passed the phone to your mum was a myth.
For more on baby talk, have a read of the latest Bewildered Dad blog post featuring Elsa’s first word!
Very interesting!