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Teaching Your Baby to Communicate Before He or She Can Speak
Baby sign language is an effective method of non-verbal communication that helps little ones express their needs before they can speak and communicate ideas verbally. Babies typically develop the necessary skill set to say their first word between eight to twelve months. Even after kids can say “Mama” and “Dada”, communication and comprehension gaps between parents and little ones can be daunting, which is why teaching a baby how to sign in the first or second year of life can narrow that gap of understanding. Better communication can lead to smoother interactions, fewer frustrations, boosted confidence, and the motivation to continue communicating.
Though you may have concerns on how it impacts verbal communication, teaching your child sign language can actually encourage early, more developed verbal communication. Stimulating communication techniques, including signing, produces a desire to learn and communicate further. Children are sponges for learning. They learn from watching adults in their lives, which is why they give high fives, wave goodbye, or point to something they want.
Teaching your baby sign language is as easy as saying corresponding words and repeating particular gestures when you have your baby’s attention. For the most effective development of sign language, begin the teaching process early on. Begin by teaching your baby as soon as he or she shows an active interest in communicating with you. Choose signs that are meaningful, important, and useful such as hungry, thirsty, and sleepy. Signs related to routine will be the most consistent to use and develop. Follow your baby’s signs. Fine motor skills are not developed fully until later in life, meaning that babies invent their own signs and modify your signs as needed. If your child modifies or develops original signs, use that sign as it is more meaningful to the child. Sign consistently to ensure that your signs are consistent and frequent. Repetition is key and by seeing the same sign over and over again, babies will learn to imitate them quicker. Signing close to your face will make your baby more likely to notice the sign. When your child reciprocates a sign, be prompt in responding. Giving your baby what he asks for quickly encourages him to repeat the behavior.
Some of the most common signs to teach your child are sleep, hungry, eat, milk, drink, more, all done, up, and down. To sign for sleep, fold your hands together and place them underneath your tilted head like a pillow. To sign for hungry, rub you belly in a circular motion. Signing for eat includes tapping the tips of your fingers to your mouth with the palm face down and thumb touching the fingers. For milk, squeeze your fingers open and closed (like you are squeezing a cow’s udder). To sign for drink, cup your hands and motion them toward the mouth. The sign for more is tapping your hands together at the fingertips repeatedly. For all done, twist your hands back and forth with your fingers facing upwards. To sign for up, raise your arms up. For down, lower your hands with the palms facing downward and index finger pointed to the ground.
If your baby becomes frustrated by sign language, resists using it, or shows signs of informational overload, do not force the agenda. Sign language is a tool to reduce frustration for both of you, not add to it. Some kids find communicating to be frustrating, which results in behavior problems such as tantrums, crying, screaming, or hitting when they are not understood. Sign language can help alleviate frustration by offering a method of expression, but is not a substitution for professional assistance if your child has a speech or language delay.
Source:
What to Expect
Children’s Medical Center Dallas
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