Should you sign with your baby?

Should you Sign with your Baby?

 

By Jo Williamson, TalkFirst Baby Signing - Wiltshire

 

Baby signing is all the rage and most child care professionals are really enthusiastic about it, but what is it? And more importantly, will it make a difference to you and your baby?

 

When I first started signing with my son people used to ask `Does he have a hearing problem?' He doesn't have hearing problems, I just believe that helping your baby both to understand the world around them, and to be understood, gives them the best possible start.

 

With a small baby at home I wanted all the help I could get, and the fact that he could let me know what he wanted or what he was thinking was really helpful. I have tried many different baby activities with him but baby signing has definitely been the most rewarding. And it's not just me that thinks so!

 

A friend of mine, for example, signed with her son from the age of 6 weeks.  He always signed to let her know if he was hungry, tired etc. But by the time he was 12 months old his signing exploded and all of a sudden he was making over 40 signs. Other people couldn't believe they were having two-way conversations. 

 

Baby signing is not new. It has been around for about 30 years. It builds on babies development at the stage where they start to make gestures such as waving bye bye and blowing kisses. Giving babies more actions linked with meaning means they can  'talk' to you long before they can speak. 

 

Teaching them signs such as `eat', `sleep', `milk' allows them to communicate with you much earlier and can reduce frustration for you both. 

 

Baby signing can also increase your bond with your baby. Eye contact is an important part of the bonding process -  with baby signing you always maintain eye contact whilst signing and saying the word.

 

Of course some would argue that they can understand their baby without the need to sign and of course most parents can tune into their babies and generally get to know what they want. However baby signing can help ease frustration so if you can get a little help and avoid a few tantrums, that's got to be a good thing.

 

Until around 6-7 months of age, most babies don't have the dexterity in their hands to sign back but don't underestimate what they are taking in. Signing needs to be a natural thing brought into your everyday life and most of all it should be fun! In my classes, I introduce the signs step by step for the adults and have puppets (including a very special unique puppet called Dexter), props, songs, rhymes and activities for the children (the parachute and bubbles are the favourite).

You can start signing from birth and carry on until your child no longer needs to sign. Just do what feels right for you and your baby.

 

Although you can start signing with your baby from birth, it is never too late to start as Jenna's mummy found out.

 

 'I heard about baby signing classes through a friend but by this time Jenna was 20mths old. She had started to speak but progress was slow and she was difficult to understand. She was really frustrated. I decided to give classes a try and she loved them. After the first class she went home and did all the signs we had learned. She was like a sponge and went signing mad. It was easy for me to show her older brother and other family members the signs so they understood her too. She was much happier and the spoken words just followed.  I am so pleased I did sign with her. Ideally I would have started earlier if I had know about baby signing -  but better late than never! I will definitely sign with my next baby.'

 

I am often asked if signing will hinder a baby's speech and the answer is a very definite no! The opposite is true - baby signing develops and accelerates language skills. Signing is simply learning a form of communication so they will have some building blocks for when they start to speak. Signs are always used with speech to reinforce the meaning of the word. 

 

Even if English isn't the main language spoken at home, you can still use baby signing. The signs stand for whatever word your language uses, so if anything, signing strengthens the child's ability to make connections between both languages.

 

So how do you get started? I would suggest one or all of the following:

 

1)    If you can, attend a class. This is definitely the best way to get started. Pick one that really teaches you the signs and is fun for your baby.

2)    Visit the YouTube TalkFirst Channel and see some signing in action!

3)    Buy a Dictionary of signs, but be warned, you need to be dedicated if you don't also have the back up of a signing class.

 

However you get started remember the most important thing is that it needs to be fun for you and your baby. Enjoy it!

 

Baby signing classes run around the country. TalkFirst Baby Signing classes are run in various locations and on different days in the Wiltshire area. 

 

More more information contact:

Jo Williamson (Talkfirst Baby Signing and Singing – Wiltshire)

01249 817700

josbabysigns@btinternet.com

www.talkfirst.net