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> It is hard and non intuitive to talk to newborns

I had the opposite experience, but maybe that's because I have decades of experience of talking to pets as if they're human adults...

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It is tiresome for me personally, because it is hard to get used to non-verbal responses. My wife does a stellar job though. I am gaining experience along the way though and a bit better than initial days.

My wife used to explain the grocery shopping to our kids when they were babies. "Let's go get tomatoes, OK? What else do we need?" and so on, as a running commentary. They were babies, so they couldn't answer of course.

I would feel stupid doing that, even if I see the benefits, but I enjoyed reading out loud to them, because then you have a script to follow. I wouldn't read "Dog - Apple - Ball" children books, but stuff I wanted to read anyway, just to get them used to hearing my voice, the speech rhythm, and the vocabulary.

You helped me realise I talk to my cousins the way I talk to my parrot. It's an amusing thought :)

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