Baby Sign LanguageIn modern times a growing interest has been developed towards teaching sign language to hearing pre-verbal babies and toddlers. The most common reason behind this is an intense desire on the part of a parent or caregiver to understand what the baby is feeling or needing at any given moment. Sign language provides you the opportunity to easily communicate with the child without experiencing any frustration. Furthermore as the parent or caregiver, you would be able to experience a deeper bonding with the infant as well as the satisfaction of knowing how to effectively communicate with him/her.
Teaching sign language to a baby is quite easy and can be a very enjoyable experience. Infants use a different part of their brain for signing than speech and they also develop the muscles in their hands before those which are required for speech thus enabling them to sign successfully before speaking. Research has shown that signing babies experience less frustration due to the fact of being able to communicate their needs and wants to their parents. In addition to this there are many other advantages of teaching sign language to your infant. Research shows that being multilingual expands cognitive processes and intellectual skills as well as it boosts the lingual developments of an infant. So in fact as opposed to the existing myths regarding sign language delaying speech in a child, signing children actually speak sooner than those who do not. Children who sign, has shown stronger lingual development and higher IQ results (10-12 points) than those who do not sign.
Chances are your baby already knows some signing gestures such as waving bye-bye and clapping when she/he is happy. Once you have decided to teach signing to your infant, start with a few gestures. One method is to start with signs which are needed often through out the day. For example milk, eat, more, drink or sleep. Another method to introduce the first sign gestures are through activities/things which interest or excite your little one. Babies love to play with pets or listen to music. Start introducing these words to him/her. Always say the word out loud while signing it. For example when you are giving your baby milk, say the word out loud as you are signing it. Consistency is the key to success in teaching your child sign language. As your baby starts to recognize the signs and signs back at you, you can start introducing some new signs. But keep using the ones which your baby already knows.
It may take a while for the baby to respond to the signs depending on his/her age. Do not get discouraged about this; just keep on signing to your baby. Eventually your baby will start to respond. An important fact to keep in mind is that your baby will not be able to perform the gestures fluently as you are able to do it. Your baby will adapt some hand shapes and movement of signs depending on his/her hand/eye coordination. Keep signing to your baby in the correct way and as he/she matures and develops the skills, the signing would be more precise.
Teaching sign language is not time consuming and you do not require any prior knowledge. You can easily pick up signs through the help of a sign language dictionary, a baby signing book or through websites. You can start teaching your baby as early as six months of age. Enjoy teaching your child and have fun. Do not make it into a boring or exhausting chore. Be patient, consistent and encouraging. Soon you would be amazed by how easily your pre-verbal child communicates with you.
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Article Source: Jamie Opielski
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