I think baby talk is the common and proper term. It refers to the words or sounds a baby makes when it's learning to talk. In addition, it also refers to special language adults sometimes use to talk to babies.
We also can call it babble. We can use babble both as a noun and a verb.
Usually when on
plays a sport
one of the important objects is to keep score, in situations when there is no score it is usually considered "practice".
In your examples, the six year old is
playing with a basketball
His son was playing with a basketball in the backyard.
the case where someone is bouncing a basketball without any other intent is merely
dribbling a basketball
He was dribbling a basketball while walking down the street.
In the case where two people are shooting at the same basket, if they are playing a game against each other, it is called
a one-on-one game
an official basketball game has five players on each side, but games may consist of any number of players, but usually no greater than "five a side". If they are both shooting at the same basket then they may only be
practicing their shots
You are correct, a nickname for basketball is "hoops" this is because a ball one tries to get the basketball through a "hoop"
People can "practice" any number of things (dancing, singing, basketball) without any future intent, but merely for the fun of it!
Best Answer
I would call the first one a jetty, and the second a boat house.
Since boats can dock there, either could be called a dock, although I would normally use 'dock' to refer to the place where cargo ships load and unload their cargo.
Neither is a harbour, because a harbour is a place where boats are stored to protect them from stormy weather.