# doe je jasje aan



## serbianfan

At what age of the child does the average Dutch parent stop saying 'Doe je jasje aan' and start saying 'Doe je jas aan'? Are there any parents who would normally say 'Doe je jas aan' to a young child of five, or maybe only if they were angry with the child?


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## Pedro Paraíso

'Doe je jasje aan' hangt niet alleen af van de leeftijd van een kind, maar ook van de omstandigheden (grootouders zullen dat wellicht eerder zeggen, of het kan bij een volwassene liefkozend zijn bedoeld).  Er zijn ook veel ouders die tegen hun kinderen niet in verkleinwoorden spreken. De gestelde vraag valt jammer genoeg niet zonder meer te beantwoorden.


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## serbianfan

Thanks for your reply. When I lived in Groningen, it seemed that all the parents I knew regularly used diminutives. So I wonder who the "veel ouders" are who don't use them? Do they tend to be more middle-class people? Or do they live in particular parts of the Netherlands?


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## Peterdg

I'm a parent (and a grandparent) and I would never use the diminutive in that case, whatever the age. Some people would, others won't. Just like that.


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## serbianfan

OK, thanks. So if it's "just like that", then presumably the ones who don't use diminutives don't think it's "wrong" in any sense to use them? Because in the UK, you'll find many parents who think you shouldn't say "doggie" (instead of "dog") to children, i.e. don't speak "baby language" but "grown-up language" to children.


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## Peterdg

serbianfan said:


> OK, thanks. So if it's "just like that", then presumably the ones who don't use diminutives don't think it's "wrong" in any sense to use them?


Correct.


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## ThomasK

Flanders has a diminutive culture (along with harshness in other contexts), I would say. Especially in food contexts we have _groentjes, tafeltjes, frietjes,_ etc., but not _stoeltjes_, and certainly not _rekeningetjes_. _Jasjes, kleedjes, sokjes_, are indeed commonly used with children, but sometimes even in clothes shops, etc. They are supposed to sound more affectionate, I think, like in language with children, but it is growing rampant, or so I think. I do not like it. They do not turn up in "expensive" contexts, I think, but I am not quite sure...


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