My extremely imaginative 4 year old daughter got over a cold about a week ago, but keeps talking in a voice that sounds like her nose is stuffed up. She is doing it for effect--she is no longer congested, and I have caught her talking in her normal voice once in a while. I assume she liked the sound of her voice when she was congested, and is experimenting. However, it is kind of driving me nuts! I can't always understand what she's saying with this new voice, plus I liked her regular voice better. I know kids this age like to experiment with things, so I assume it will just pass, but what if it doesn't? What if she gets so used to talking weird that it sticks?
Has anyone else had an imaginative kid go through something like this? Did it end????
Encourage her and get her in drama classes. See how many voices she can make up! People that read books for a living is great. Think of how mauch money the guy who read all the Harry Potter books made and won awards for.
She has a talent that needs to develope. It may be driving you nuts but it is part of her. No harm in letting her have fun.
C. B
My 4 year old does accents, drops the first letter off of every word, and makes up strange voices. Maybe you could teach her some more tolerable, yet still imaginative ways to talk. Like a pirate, cowboy, British accent, Australian accent, etc. It might satisfy her imagination while saving your sanity!
Ignore her, let her be and yes it is a phase and it will stop if you don't give her positive reenforcement. Both of my kids went through goofy voice stages. My son reverted back to baby talk for a week until I didn't answer him when he talked to me in that voice.
Negative reinforcement (any attention) will also encourage her to keep it up. These phases usually last about 2 weeks.
I have a daughter who likes weird voices too and some of them are horribly annoying. If the voice is hard to understand tell her that you can't understand her when she talks that way and to use her regular voice. Let her know that you have heard her talk in her regular voice so you know she doesn't need to use the congested voice. She won't like it, but if you insist you can't understand her she will eventually stop. I have actually had to ban some of the more annoying voices my daughter has come up with. She can use them, but not around me or in public.
The advice of letting her imagination go is great! Teach her to practice other tonal sounds (british, pirate)! I love that! Also, perhaps you could be silly and say I'm sorry I don't understand Russian! Could you please speak normally? Stay calm and don't show her you are annoyed, just remind her gently. Good luck!
