Talking to a senior like a baby.

IKE

IKE

Well-known Member
Location
Oklahoma....U.S.A.
Mama and I went out to lunch today and two folks in their late 40's or so were with a gal who looked to be pretty fit for her age and in her late 80's or early 90's and when talking to her they were using the same 'sing song' baby talk voice that you would use to a infant child......I've seen it before on occasion when people talk to old folks and it bugs me absolutely to no end.

Do people think that as we age we turn back into babies again or what ?

When I get a lot older than I am now as opposed to hearing, "sweetie did you make a nice poo poo today ?"......I'd rather hear, "yo Dude did you have a good bowel movement this morning ?"

I swear, when I'm one hell of a lot older than I am now and in some nursing home and some wet behind the ears nurses aide starts talking to me in that cutsie baby talk voice I'm going to muster every bit of strength I can and do my utmost to put my boot up her a**.......Grrrrr, I hate it !

Rant over.
 

It depends, with dementia yeah you might have to go there. But it depends on the person. Today I had a customer shopping with Mom. I had trouble hearing the conversation but Mama admired my cat tattoo. Her daughter called out jokingly " Maybe it's time for you to get one too". Then talking to me she said " Mom has fifteen cats that I feed, might as well go all the way". But no if the senior is still cognitively aware baby talk is condescending.
 
IKE said:
Mama and I went out to lunch today and two folks in their late 40's or so were with a gal who looked to be pretty fit for her age and in her late 80's or early 90's and when talking to her they were using the same 'sing song' baby talk voice that you would use to a infant child......I've seen it before on occasion when people talk to old folks and it bugs me absolutely to no end.
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I totally agree Ike. I'm 71 and have already been called sweetie or honey or when I said something, they said I was cute. I despise it. I also have a problem when going to the hospital or doctors office. I hate everyone being on a first name basis. When I worked in the health field many years ago, it was always Mr. or Mrs. I also was called Miss. I don't mean to seem uppity or snooty but it was just a way of showing respect. Years later I visited my grandfather in the hospital. He was in his 80's then. Some young know it all nurse came in and said,"Johnnie,time for your pills."didn't even have the decency to at least call him John let alone use his last name. Now my rant is over as well.
 

If someone calls you by your first name and expects you to address them by Mr./Ms./Dr. So-and-So, return the favor. Address them by their first name. Watch their eyes bug out! It's fun! I've seen all my doctors' eyes bug out.

Or you can gently correct them. They call you by your first name, you say "My name is Mr. or Mrs. X". Smile graciously, as you are forgiving their lack of manners. This is the dull, boring way to do it.

If they speak to you in baby talk, simply put on your snootiest cold glare expression and say haughtily, "Do not speak to me in that tone." Practice it in the mirror for fun. Then let the chips fall where they may. Or be friendly, smile, and tell them straight out that you do not like being talked to as though you were a toddler. The choice, haughty or nice, is yours! I usually choose nice with young people as I figure they are simply ignorant and don't realize that they are being offensive.

I don't always do this, of course. It depends on my mood. I do not like it when people treat me as though I am their close friend or contemporary when I am not, and I have not told them they can call me by my first name, or when they expect to be addressed with their title and last name, and do not extend that courtesy to me. If I am introduced to someone in a social setting and they are adults, of course those rules do not apply.
 
Right after my hip replacements, I had a home-visiting physical therapist talk over my head to my daughter-in law (who had stopped by to visit) about whether or not I understood my medications and whether I was eating, etc., as though I were either incompetent or were not in the room. I explained the error of her ways, invited her to leave immediately and called her agency to let them know she was rude, unprofessional and inconsiderate and not welcome in my home. I also complained to my surgeon's office (they choose the therapists' agency, and the surgeon is a stickler about how his patients are treated). Needless to say, I got apologies all around and a different therapist who realized that people with grey hair might still be cognizant human beings.

I was furious, to say the least.
 
they said I was cute.
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I recall being on the Navajo reservation at a store when a young woman came in with a very old very tiny lady. The first thing I said to my husband was "Oh isn't she cute". Years later I hired 2 teenage girls to do my floors as my back wouldn't allow me to do them, so one day the girls and I were chatting I said something that they thought was funny and I heard the one girl say to the other "Oh , isn't she cute". I knew exactly what that meant.
 

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