Why do parents refer to themselves in third person, when talking to small kids? I've seen this happening in German, English and Russian and I do this myself (even though I try not to, because I think, it is odd). I've read some explanations on this website, but the answers did not convince me. They mostly say, that it is for the children to learn to say "mommy" and "daddy".

My own explanation would be, that children don't understand the difference between the pronouns yet. If I'd say "I am kicking the ball" and then did so, the child would refer to me as "I", not as "you". So the problem is, that I refers to person talking, not like a name to a specific person.

Has any research been done, I could be pointed to? Are there more and better explanations?