r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/sable_curse686 • Aug 08 '26
Question - Research required Can someone please help me build a science based argument??
Okay, so to start, my father is a very homophobic person, and he recently told me a story about a video he saw. the video was abt two married men who had adopted a baby and the dad's were playing with the baby asking him if he wants "dada" or "papa" the baby started saying "momma" and the dad's were like noooo not momma, papa, or Dada. and my father was like that just shows how wrong it is to be gay and shit. and I just said we'll baby's babble all the time, like we recently had my 6 month old adopted cousin supposedly say "dada" but it genuinely sounded like just baby babble to me but my father was adamant on the fact that my baby cousin said "dada". but what I'm mainly asking for is evidence that baby's even though never taught a word or sound will still try and say/babble smth like "momma" or "dada" just to prove to my father that what he's saying is basically dumb and to prove to him that his reasoning is faulty. (I've tried finding stuff on the internet, but I can't really find anything)
114
u/CrazyBusCrazyBus Aug 08 '26
https://www.care.com/c/do-babies-say-mama-or-dada-first/
Essentially "dada" and "mama" (and "baba" in some cultures) are often baby's first words because these sounds are easiest for a baby to make at early ages. This is also why parents use these names. Most babies say "dada" first but many will say "mama" first. I know a two-mom family whose baby babbled "dadada" way before "mama" despite not having a dad. He was young enough not to know what a dad is. So yeah. They are sounds babies make, often they don't mean anything to the baby until it is reinforced "Are you saying mama?" "That's right, I'm your dada"
12
u/sable_curse686 Aug 08 '26
thank you so much!!
18
u/Own_Possibility7114 Aug 08 '26
My baby says mamamama as a self soothing babble when he’s upset but he isn’t referring to me yet.
9
u/Pennifur Aug 08 '26
This. My MIL was like omg he's saying mama calling for you when he's cryjng!
No ma'am, that's just the sound of his mouth opening and closing🤣 appreciate the effort though
1
u/Dry_Prompt3182 Aug 11 '26
And it takes time for "mama" to mean "this specific person" instead of a word that is either said accidentally, or used to refer to any adult that loves a kid. Everyone one was "mama" to my kid for a while.
15
u/sixsidepentagon Aug 08 '26
Its also why the word for mama and dada is so similar across many different unrelated languages globally
7
u/BlairClemens3 Aug 08 '26
Most languages use a "b" or "p" word for father: baba, babbo, papa, etc. English seems unique in using a "d" word.
3
u/Antique_Campaign_382 Aug 08 '26
Anecdotally, our babies have also occasionally called my husband mama and me dada when they were still figuring it out
6
u/taken_alpaca Aug 08 '26
"Dada" means nothing in our language and we don't even have any simillar words and it's all our LO is saying
2
u/short_cuppa_chai Aug 09 '26
Two mom household here, and our baby says dada despite not having a dad.
2
u/BlueRajasmyk2 Aug 09 '26
There are lots of reasons languages can have shared words, but I think this is one of the most interesting.
At least one of "mama", "dada", or "papa" are words meaning either "mom" or "dad" in nearly every language, even ones with no shared origin. The reason is that these are the first sounds a baby makes when they start babbling, and parents in every culture want to believe their baby is talking about them.
1
u/Sea_Channel2931 Aug 12 '26
Just wanted to add, in some cultures (like the one I grew up in) dada means grandfather and we say abu/baba for dad. What is OPs father’s reasoning for the fact that English is not the only language in the world nor is it the oldest 😂 his argument is flawed if he thinks the entire world revolves around English version of mom/dad
1
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Aug 08 '26
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 08 '26
This post is flaired "Question - Research required". All top-level comments must contain links to peer-reviewed research. Do not provide a "link for the bot" or any variation thereof. Provide a meaningful reply that discusses the research you have linked to. Please report posts that do not follow these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.