Have you ever seen a baby throwing a tantrum in shopping centers or restaurants and cringed? Those poor babies aren’t getting their needs met. The level of noise plus the length of the tantrum equals the level of frustration for the unfortunate baby. I have seen mothers almost reduced to tears trying to work out what their baby wants. And as the tantrum and crying increases, the more it is going to take to pacify that unhappy child.
In contrast, have you ever seen hearing impaired babies throw a tantrum? Or the babies of the hearing impaired? Not really. These parents have taught their children sign language for babies, probably from birth, and as the child’s motor control develops, they are able to sign back.
Some research suggests that the first six months are the most important ones for your child’s development of language skills. The more you can talk to your baby and show them sign language during these first months, the better.
There are a number of myths surrounding sign language for babies and I would like to address them here.
1. Does signing hinder speech?
No. In fact it has been shown that signing with your baby and saying the word at the same time actually helps speech development. Your baby ‘understands’ the word on different levels - hearing the word associated with an action (signing), hearing the word associated with getting a need met (eg milk), and hearing the word repeated over and over. How many non-signing mothers actually say the word ‘milk’ when they put the baby to the breast or give them formula. By hearing the word and seeing the word and doing the word, your child is getting mega reinforcement.
2. Does signing hinder IQ development?
Definitely not. In fact the reverse is true. Studies have shown that school age children (hearing) who have been signing from an early age actually have a higher IQ than their peers. This could be partly due to the increased amount of stimulation the neural pathways in the brain receive from an early age and partly due to the increased amount of one-on-one time spent with their mother/caregiver.
3. Does signing enhance self confidence and esteem?
Absolutely! The baby that knows its needs are going to be met quickly will soon develop confidence and esteem whereas the baby whose needs are being ignored or taking time to be met will feel insecure much of the time. Look at it from your adult point of view - if your partner doesn’t respond to your advances how do you feel. Unsure of yourself - right? As an adult you have the added knowledge that you can tell your partner what you need. Your preverbal baby can’t. However, if your baby knows that you will respond to a sign she makes, she will feel more confident within herself.
Children and babies learn by imitating and play - and everything is a game to a child - they don’t consider it work. Make it a whole family affair - if you have older children encourage them to learn as well. They will bond more with your new baby and will develop a great sense of achievement when they are able to ‘translate’ what their baby sister/brother needs to non-signing friends or adults.
It is not necessary to learn a whole new language immediately. Start with a few words but start early. If you start learning while you are still pregnant you will know enough to begin with when your child is born. An excellent resource is Sign Language for Babies and Beyond by Wendy Jensen. This program comes as a downloadable ebook and also has a video so you can see it in action. Remember, keep it consistent. It will soon become second nature to you both.
Even before babies are able to sign, they learn to shake their head for ‘no’. Then by using sign language for babies, it is simply a matter of elimination to find out what your baby wants. And when the screaming stops and your baby smiles, everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
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At birth, your baby has the ability to learn any language. If you speak English, so will your child. If you speak Spanish or Russian, so will your child. Parents who speak more than one language in the home teach these languages to their children who then have the advantage of growing up bi or multi-lingual. The children also seem to know when to use each language. Teaching sign language for babies from an early age will give them another advantage and tool in their development. Once your baby is about 7-8 months old she/he should have the motor skill co-ordination to be able to sign.
Your baby is always trying to let you know what she wants, right from birth. She (please read she to include he, it’s easier than writing she/he every time) cries when she’s hungry or wet or tired. As a hands on mum when my children were little I was always incredibly frustrated when I couldn’t understand what they were trying to tell me until a friend told me about sign language for babies.
There are many universal symbolic gestures such as arms reaching up to be picked up and waving bye bye. Even the huge smile your baby gives you and your partner is her way of saying hey I’m glad you’re here.
To begin with, you need to choose which method of signing you wish to use. After much research, the best method I have found is Sign Language for Babies and Beyond. Early signs should be needs based such as eat, milk, drink, more, sleep, change me. Mommy, daddy, dog (or cat depending on your pet) can be introduced fairly early as well as these are ‘people’ she sees daily. It will take time for her to understand that the dog or cat is not another person.
Show the sign at the start of the activity to begin with then introduce before the activity as well as if asking the question ‘do you want a drink’ etc. It is necessary to be consistent and show the sign every time. Make sure you teach your partner and any older children (if they don’t already know them) the signs as well so it becomes a fun family affair.
Keep adding new signs one at a time while still reinforcing the older signs. Always give the verbal cue with the sign - this will reinforce language skills down the track. Be prepared to realize that she will recognize a sign long before she makes it herself. However, when your baby does start to sign back you will naturally be overjoyed so don’t hold back on letting her know. Don’t be surprised if she uses the same sign for everything to begin with, this is normal development. Encourage her and keep showing the different signs as you do each activity - it won’t take long for her to understand. Frequently she will suddenly ‘get it’ and start using more than one sign in the correct context.
Have fun with it. As your baby gets older sign language for babies naturally lends itself to games and songs such as ‘open shut them’ and ‘incy wincy spider’ (although you may need to simplify this one).
Signing with your baby is another method of letting her know how much you love her and want the communication to be two-way. And if nothing else, it is a perfect excuse to spend a lot of time with your children.
An excellent resource and the one I used with my children is Sign Language for Babies and Beyond by Wendy Jensen who has been involved with American Sign Language for over sixteen years. She has worked as an interpreter for the hearing impaired, sign language mentor and ASL college instructor. Sign Language for Babies and Beyond comes as an ebook which means you can download it and the many bonuses immediately upon payment and start working with your baby today. It also comes with a 60 day money back guarantee. This is excellent value.