These are the most annoying baby talk phrases, according to child-free Americans

Ready to drive your young and stylish kid-free cousins a little nuts this holiday? Just put that baby talk into overdrive, a new survey shows. In fact, certain words and phrases are even more triggering than others for non-parents, according to nearly 1,000 Americans who responded with their favorite and least favorite kid-related phrases.

Here’s what they found: “Cuddles,” “Dolly,” and “Night night,” aren’t really that annoying, and in fact are sort of lovable. So, I’ll keep those going around my 20-something sister who isn’t sure if she wants kids yet, or ever. 

But overall, most baby talk is actually pretty annoying, the survey found. In fact, over half of respondents said they found it uncomfortable to be around us baby talking mamas when we are cooing over our babies loveys and binkies and potty time. Even more, 69% said it was downright annoying to be around parents using baby talk with their children. Nonparents even hate it when their partner uses baby talk, with 56% calling it a “turn-off.” 

But for those who aren’t that picky about baby talk, they have some favorite phrases beyond night night that they can get behind, even if they aren’t living in the milk-soaked trenches with kids. These include:

• Tummy
• Blankie
• Ouchie
• Nappy
• Paci
• Oopsie
• Owie

Anyone catching on that they all end in an “e” sound? On the other hand, they have some words that drive them crazy, including:

• Poo poo
• Whittle
• Num-num
• Bum-bum
• Boo-boo
• Wawa

Apparently, it’s that word repetition that really grinds their gears. But it wouldn’t really work to put a bandaid on a “boo” now would it?

But, here’s the thing. Research shows that something like a language called “parentese” is actually great for babies, but it isn’t really using a whole slew of the above words. Rather, it’s using “real” words, but at a different cadence to better engage their attention. Basically, parents exaggerate their words so the baby can understand, and they have an exaggerated tone as well, and usually a slower tempo. But, you are using real words and language, CNN reports. This helps babies to learn language and social cues, and eventually, to respond. In fact, you might be talking even a full octave higher than normal, which might be behind those non-parents’ feelings of annoyance more so than the actual word “poo poo.”

But, generally, you don’t have to stress, researchers have concluded, that baby talk is harming your baby. In fact, some think it helps them to regulate emotionally, and as long as you are using real words by the time they are a few years of age (and hopefully before), a whittle cooing never hurt anyone.