Have you ever tried to soothe your crying baby and felt frustrated that you couldn’t understand what she really wanted? Be assured that most parents feel the way you do. It’s difficult at times to know what your baby really wants. It’s not only frustrating for you, but it’s frustrating for your baby as well when she can’t communicate what she wants or needs.
Well, one thing that has been helping to make communication a bit easier for parents and babies is baby sign language. Sign language is an exciting and new way to communicate with your baby. This involves teaching your basic baby sign language that will help them to communicate their needs. Could this really be true? Can your baby really talk to you?
Recent studies have shown that baby sign language is actually quite effective. It was created by Joseph Garcia through observing how a baby communicated with his deaf parents. The 10-month old was able to communicate fairly well, even at that young age, with his parents. After observing how this worked, Garcia began to promote baby sign language for parents who had normal hearing.
Most babies are able to “read” sign language fairly quickly. As a matter of fact they find it easier to sign than to talk. This may be due to the fact that they are able to co-ordinate their hand movements at an earlier age than those of their mouth and tongue. You can actually start teaching babies sign language when they are about six months old, although some are starting even younger. Parents are constantly amazed how quickly their babies can learn this skill.
As you can imagine, sign language removes a lot of a baby’s frustration!. Instead of a lengthy crying session, they can simply make a few signs with their fingers to tell their parents what they need, a huge improvement.
Some parents have expressed concern that teaching their baby to sign is going to make them develop language skills at a slower rate. Well, according to studies, this is certainly not the case. In fact, studies show that babies that were taught baby sign language actually start speaking more quickly. Some are now even showing a higher IQ when compared to non signing children.
Baby sign language can be easily taught to your child. There are excellent classes available that can help you to work with your baby on sign language, or you can learn to do this yourself. For parents who decide to do this at home, there are many helpful resources available. All you need are some basic tools – a sign language chart, some flash cards with pictures and an instruction manual.
If you are tired and frustrated at the lack of communication between you and your baby, then baby sign language may be a great choice for you.
Most parents have heard of this recent parenting craze but not a lot of parents actually know what baby sign language involves. Many would naturally assume that you teach adult sign language to your baby, but this is not entirely correct. Let me explain why baby signing is very different to adult sign language.
Sign language for people with hearing difficulties is dramatically different from our spoken language; it isn’t just a matter of substituting words with signs in the same sequence. To learn this language effectively, it takes as much effort as it would to learn any new language as it follows its own rhythm and structure. If you were to attempt to learn sign language in order to teach your baby, it is likely that your baby would be talking way before you even get started. This is probably what puts most people off teaching Baby Sign Language to their little ones as they feel they need to learn a second language.
baby signing is different to adult sign language as it doesn’t follow the same structure. Signing for babies is based on the concept of keyword signing. Keyword signing is used in conjunction with speech and is usually used with hearing children and adults. Generally, keyword signing will be used for communication when one person can speak and the other one can’t. Keyword signs are used to compliment the spoken conversation and are used by the non-verbal child or adult to communicate back and respond. Some of the gestures used are often borrowed from sign language or may be modified to be more easily understood or performed.
Babies can understand most of what you are saying from the age of 6 months but they are unable to respond. They try their hardest to communicate through their body language but keyword signing provides a more effective means of communication to help them get their point across. They can easily communicate through the use of keyword signing well before their vocal chords are developed enough for speech. Through this communication method, they suffer less frustration because they are able to let you know what they think and want without the usual guessing games.
A baby that is less than 12 months old will have the ability to copy hand signals. If your baby is already waving hello or goodbye, they are certainly able to add more gestures to their vocabulary. Being understood is very empowering for the child and they recognize early how rewarding it is to have communication skills.
They are able to produce these hand signals at an age far younger than they are able to talk. Most babies are ready to use these signs by the age of 6-9 months whereas some babies may not speak until 12 months. For others who follow a slightly delayed speech development, they may not be able to communicate with words until they are over 2 years old. In this case, Baby Sign Language can be an invaluable tool, allowing them to express themselves almost a year before they would have naturally been afforded that opportunity.
Parent’s who take the time to nurture their child’s development by teaching Baby Sign Language are also more likely to spend quality time with their baby. They are more likely to seek out ways to improve their child’s development which flows on to have many positive benefits other than just the accelerated speech development.
Have you ever looked at your newborn baby, and wondered why are you crying so much today? I think all parents have. Now there is a new way to communicate with your child at a very early age. Babies as young as 6 months old can learn to do baby sign language. This can be very helpful to you and your newborn through the early stages of your child’s life.
Baby Sign Language
Baby signing can improve your baby’s language and communication skills, therefore increasing your baby’s IQ. Teaching baby signs to your baby can help reduce tantrums and strengthen the parent/baby bond which will lead to more confidence and higher self-esteem. Your baby will be able to tell you when they are hungry or thirsty, and if they want orange juice or milk for breakfast.
Your baby will naturally try to communicate with you from birth, and will start almost as soon as they are born with eye contact, and after that, facial expressions. By teaching baby signs to your newborn you will be giving him the basic tools to communicate in a meaningful way. By six months babies can develop the motor skills needed to make signs and by 7-8 months your babies memory will have developed enough to use these signs consistently. Normally once your baby learns the first few signs, they will pick up n the next ones more quickly. Another question alot of people have is if the baby is using signs all the time, will it delay their speech? Experts say that the opposite is true, and it actually speeds up the speech process. Knowing what i know now about Baby Sign Language, i think it should be something that every parent would want to consider.
More and more research in the Early Childhood field is leading to encouraging young children to use sign language. The more language or signs that a child can accumulate in the earliest years, the greater the vocabulary growth and verbal intellectual development later in life. Communication through sign seems to build connections in the brain. I have seen typically developing children and developmentally delayed children benefit through the use of early signs. Sign Language for Babies and Beyond is a great tool for any developmental specialist, parent, or caretaker to have.
Here are just some of the amazing secrets, tips & techniques this e-book will teach you:
Learn how you can communicate with your baby much earlier than you would if you simply wait for him to learn how to talk.
Find out how you can greatly reduce your child’s frustrations and tantrums!
Learn how sign language develops the brain and has actually been linked to a higher IQ in children!
Dispel any fears that sign language may delay speech development and find out why the opposite is actually true!
Discover the best time to start signing to your baby.
Learn the advantages of learning American Sign Language rather than inventing your own signs.
Learn how children make the transitions from gestures to signs to speech.
Learn the benefits of learning sign language to music.
Learn how Sign Language can promote self-esteem in your child!
Learn how to teach your child Sign Language in a natural environment!
Learn the benefits of utilizing sign language in children who have speech-delays or special needs.
Learn how to use sign language to develop reading skills.
Learn how to reduce the noise level in your home or classroom!
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