Communicating With Your Baby Through Sign Language
Babies use gestures naturally as a way of communicating their needs, long before they can communicate verbally. They point at what they want, tug their ears if they are in pain, and raise their arms when they want a cuddle. Baby signing is the concept of building on a baby's natural propensity to use signs to communicate by teaching them a range of signs with specific meanings. Baby signing has been used for decades for babies and toddlers with impaired hearing, but it is only relatively recently that parents have started using it as a way of aiding communication between themselves and non-hearing impaired babies. Supporters of the baby signing movement believe that babies are happier when they can make their needs known to their parents by signing instead of crying.
Is Sign Language Good For My Baby?
Babies are capable of using gestures to communicate their needs before they can talk because their gross motor skills and hand to eye coordination develop much faster than their verbal language skills. This can make signing an effective way of communicating simple requests between you and your baby, such as: 'food', 'more', 'milk', 'sleep', 'teddy', 'thirsty', 'cuddle', 'full' etc. Many parents worry that teaching their baby signing may slow down their verbal communication development, but as long as you don't replace language with signing, teaching your baby to sign won't delay your baby's language development. Some studies have found that baby signing actually helps your baby speak sooner than average, as well as developing a larger and more expressive vocabulary. Supporters of baby signing also believe that baby signing leads to a higher than average literacy level and more advanced mental development. Other reported benefits of baby signing include better parent/child relationships due to improved communication, and less tantrums and tears as babies can make themselves understood more easily.
There has been little official research into the advantages of baby signing for hearing babies, so evidence for the benefits of baby signing is mainly drawn from anecdotes and inferred from research, rather than conclusive factual findings. Many families who have tried it swear by its effectiveness in helping them understand their baby's needs. If you'd like to try baby signing with your baby, the key to effective baby signing is to use it alongside language. Signing isn't meant to replace language, but enhance it. You should always use speech when you sign to your baby so that they associate the sign with the word. Make sure you are consistent with your signs. Don't ask your baby to make a sign on demand, this will confuse them. Be patient with your baby as they learn to sign and give them lots of praise when they attempt a sign!
Getting Started
The best age to start signing with your baby is between 9 and 18 months. Babies are capable of learning signs for simple requests from 9 months old. By 18 months babies will be starting to form words, so you might prefer to do it sooner to get the most out of it.
If you want to teach your baby official sign language such as Makaton or Signalong, find out about local baby signing classes. Many children's centres and privately run organisations run baby signing classes, where you can learn how to teach your baby to sign. Joining classes is also a great way to meet other parents in your area. If you prefer, you can make up your own signs to teach to your baby for various actions, such as 'hungry', 'full', 'I want a cuddle', and anything else you want to teach your baby. When making up your own signs, do what comes naturally. Any signs that mimic the word will be easier for your baby to learn, for example, touching your lips to mean 'food', and patting tummy for 'full'.
