Imagine your baby showing what they need instead of grumbling or crying. Avoid hysterical scenes and frustrating moments trying to guess what your child needs.
On the one hand, in these situations, there is a desperate parent who does not know what the child needs.
On the other hand, there is a baby who needs something, but their parents do not understand.
What if I told you there was a way to avoid it?
Do you know baby sign?
On the Baby sign language website, you can read a fascinating, brief history of baby sign language.
In 1800, William Dwight Whitney noticed that toddlers in deaf families were much better at developing than children in hearing families.
The difference was that children in deaf families were able to show their parents what they needed with specific hand movements.
When they were hungry, they didn’t even start to get nervous or cry but showed a gesture of repeatedly putting their fingers in their mouths. That was the sign for the food.
No Need To Guess What Baby Needs
The parents knew immediately what the child needed without guessing.
When the child is hungry in the hearing family, the same situation could look like this: the child begins to demand the parents’ attention by mumbling and making different sounds.
When no food is given, and the parents can’t guess what the child needs, the child starts crying.
Why you should start with baby sign language?
William Dwight Whitney observed that children in deaf families communicated with their parents as early as six months old and children in hearing families a year later.
Talking With Your Baby ONE Year Sooner
That’s an incredible lead!
Whitney did not address this discovery further. His successor was Dr. Joseph Garcia. It didn’t start to get interesting until the late 1980s when two professors, Professor Linda Acredolo and Professor Susan Goodwyn, completed extensive research.
They found that signing with children has the following unbelievable benefits:
- Less frustration and a closer bond
- A larger speaking vocabulary
- 12 IQ point advantage
Since 2000, baby sign language has experienced a language boom and has become known to millions of families.
Would you like to start signing?
Signing Is Easy! Would You Like To Try It Out?
It’s really easy!
In order to start communicating with your child using baby sign language today, two things are necessary:
- The decision to go for it
- The first few characters to start with
How to share with the baby?
Name the activity and show the specific sign whenever you carry out an activity with a child.
Probably the most commonly used character (and the best one to start with) is ‘milk’.
It does not matter if you are breastfeeding or if the baby drinks formula.
Show the milk sign a few times whenever you give it to him.
I have prepared a short video for you, in which you will find the first five characters with which you could start today:
Start with these five characters.
Mom, Dad, milk, more and done.
You don’t need more characters just to get started.
Take this opportunity to introduce baby sign language to your baby, your partner, and your immediate family.
Soon you’ll be looking for additional signs to communicate more easily with your child.
It's Never too Late To Start Signing
It’s never too late to start signing.
If your child is already talking, you no longer need this method. A speaking child will tell you directly what they need and will not stay with the baby signs. It’s much easier to use their voice.
We introduced the signs to our firstborn son when he was 11 months old.
I noticed that he longed to communicate with me. He made various noises and pointed his finger at what he wanted.
When we introduced the signs, he immediately began to respond to them.
Signing In The First Months
I know that many moms start signing in the first months. I didn’t know something like that existed.
When I read more about signing, I was so intrigued that I attended a live seminar with lectures, where I got a book, cards, and an overview of signs.
These accessories were helpful, but you can sign without the extra materials.
Just follow a few rules to get started. I wish you to experience as many moments as possible with your baby when he communicates with you about his world.
That joy in their eyes is indescribable.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably serious about signing.
For a child to learn to communicate using sign language, it is necessary to:
- Be consistent
- Be prepared
Be consistent- repeating signs in activities is the key to making a child understand what is going on. Then they gradually connect the individual signs with the activities and start using the characters themselves.
Be prepared for the fact that the child’s signs might look a little distorted. At least at the beginning. And that’s perfectly fine. Some children even create their own signs with their parents.
The point is to allow the child to “talk” and communicate with you before they can speak on their own. There is no need to follow the rules at all costs.
Baby sign language works best when you enjoy it to the fullest and when you are relaxed and having fun.
When signing, you are in touch with the child, just like talking to an adult. You look into each other’s eyes, listen, and react.
You simply follow the effective communication tools as if you were talking to an older child. Not sure what I am talking about? Download your free pdf here>
The signing is also used for the whole conversation between you and the children.
They can skillfully connect the signs together later and thus communicate whole sentences with you.
For example, the sign “yet” and “eat” when eating or “pee” and “toilet” and then “done”.
You may have some questions:
- What if my partner doesn´t support me in signing?
- What if I don't remember the signs?
- Isn't my child too old to sign?
- Will speech development be delayed if we use signs?
You can ask all these questions and many more in our Simigarten’s Parenting Academy on FB, (It is FREE and always will be!), where you will find parents with the same kind of questions. And me :).
We help parents raise their children with respect and understanding to their maximum potential without pressure to perform. To be strong, to preserve their individuality, to be mindful of other living beings, and to be able to rely on their intuition.
We are engaged and want a respectful upbringing for children. Join us in Simigarten’s Parenting Academy Group (it is brand new, and we need you)!
I would love to hear your opinion about baby sign language.
Is it something new for you?
Do you like it?
Have you tried it?
