Why doesn’t “use your normal voice” work?
Because knowing you want a different voice isn’t the same as knowing how to produce it reliably.
They may not notice the switch.
Adults often hear the change instantly. The child may not. If the transition has become automatic, your child can be several sentences into the voice before you point it out. Awareness is therefore a skill in its own right.
They may know — but struggle to switch.
Some children can change immediately. Others describe knowing what their parent means but struggling to find the other voice in that moment. That’s particularly important if the voice tends to appear during emotionally difficult situations.
Pressure can change communication.
Stress affects children’s behaviour and communication. That doesn’t mean every baby voice is caused by stress. But where pressure is part of a child’s pattern, escalating the pressure around the voice is unlikely to teach calm, voluntary control.
The parent shouldn’t have to be the detector forever.
If Mum or Dad always notices first, reminds first and monitors whether the voice stays changed, the parent remains the external control system. Chippup’s long-term aim is to move that awareness inward.
“I’ve noticed my voice.” “I know what happened.” “I know how to try another one.”