Have you ever seen a baby wave "bye bye" or shake her head back and forth to mean no? I'm pretty sure we all have, and when we witness these gestures, we are actually witnessing babies using signs to communicate. Using sign language to help babies communicate, while fairly new, has spread quickly as parents discover the amazing benefits both for their babies as well as for themselves. The benefits for babies who use baby signs include decreased frustration at their inability to communicate, an ability to speak sooner with an increased vocabulary, as well as stimulating emotional and intellectual development. In addition to all these benefits for their children, parents get the added bonus of decreased tantrums from their babies and young children as a result of their increased ability to communicate to their parents and caregivers exactly what they want and need.
A baby's desire to communicate with those around them develops long before the fine muscle control in their mouth is there to enable them to speak clearly. When you have something to say, and no one can understand, it can be very, very frustrating. Baby Signs can act as a bridge between this time and when babies are able to make their muscles, tongue and vocal chords all work together to form words and speak. Because of this bridge then, there is an increase in successful communication between babies and their loved ones. As a result, babies also experience a decrease in frustration levels, and therefore a decrease in tears and tantrums. Who doesn't want that for their babies, and, let’s be honest, for ourselves too!
Many who first hear about baby signs have a concern that a baby's reliance on signs to communicate may delay their use of vocal speech. However, research has shown that the opposite is true. Babies who use sign language to communicate actually speak sooner on average and once they do learn to speak, know about 50 more words than their non-signing peers. This benefit also continues throughout their language development. This is a result of the early, rich interpersonal communication that the use of baby signs allows.
Most importantly though is how a baby's ability to be heard and understood fuels their self confidence and pride! During the first 3 years of a child's life they develop an understanding of what to expect from their world and how others respond to them. When we are able to communicate with our babies from this early age, we show them that their world and the people in it want to hear what they say and enjoy having them be part of the conversation. This has the potential to provide life long benefits for a child's emotional development.
So these benefits sound wonderful right? But, when do you begin? Well, you can begin at any time really. Just as you begin talking to your baby from birth (or even before!) you can begin signing early on also. But, many parents will wait until at least 6 - 8 mo to begin showing their babies signs because babies won't sign back until they have the desire to communicate, as well as the physical dexterity to form the signs. If you see these things developing earlier or simply have a desire to begin earlier, by all means, do so. Be patient though, learning anything new requires a great deal of repetition, and learning sign language is no different.
You can start off by picking some signs that seem easy and relevant to you and your baby. It is important to start slow if you have limited or no experience with ASL simply so that you yourself can become more adept at using and more importantly modeling the signs. As far as your baby is concerned, the more signs you use, the merrier! When you model the signs for your baby, always say the word and show the sign together. Because you are using sign language as a bridge for speech you want to give your baby a choice of signing the word or saying it. And, most importantly, make baby signing a regular part of your day. In addition to repetition, babies need consistency to learn new concepts. Plus, this will also make signing more of a habit for you, which then of course increases the consistency with which you sign for your baby.
Baby Signs, while closely related to ASL (American Sign Language) are also somewhat individualized. There are no rights or wrongs with regards to Baby Signs. The best baby signs require minimal hand/finger dexterity, are associated with an object in some way (for example wiping a finger (or fingers) across your cheeks like whiskers for kitty), require only one movement as opposed to a sequence of movements, and are different enough from each other to be easily identifiable. You can find a dictionary of baby signs online at www.signingbaby.com, and also as part of the book Baby Signs by Linda Acredolo Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn Ph.D. Or, you create ones that work for you and your baby by following the guidelines above.
Teaching your baby to use sign language can be very beneficial both for your baby and also for you and her other loved ones. Communicating with those around you is a wonderful thing, and using baby signs to help your baby along in this process will help her engage positively in the world around her.
