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Ask Amy: Daughter-in-law has had it with the baby talk

By Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

Dear Amy: I have an unconventional problem with my mother-in-law.

She does not meddle, undermine me, tell me how to raise my children, or imply that I'm not good enough for her son. She provides free childcare willingly, and always brings gifts for the kids, most of which I approve of.

My problem is that she's unbearably annoying.

She has an extremely high-pitched voice, a thick Russian accent, and a pronounced stutter.

I can't hold these things against her, and they are only mildly bothersome in normal conversation. But when she talks to my kids, especially the baby, it becomes unbearable.

She speaks exclusively in a mix of broken English baby talk and nonsense noises, and the level of repetition is borderline pathological.

 

She may repeat the same high-pitched sing-song "Oo goo goosh! Oo goo goosh!" sound to my baby literally hundreds of times over the course of an hour.

Once when I was feeling particularly snarky, I started timing her verbal runs. Many go for over 10 minutes without a break.

My level of annoyance is so high that I turn away, cringe, and silent-scream expletives when it gets bad.

I don't know how to address this, or if it's worth it.

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