Baby Sign Language
Consciously or unconsciously, we all use simple signs, such as waving our
hands with “bye-bye” and clapping our hands to express our delight. Baby sign
language is just simple gesturing to communicate with your baby. Your baby’s
hand-eye coordination develops much faster than his speech. Prior to about
12-18 months, your baby may not have acquired his motor skills and muscles of
the mouth and tongue to articulate intelligent words; whereas, by 6-7 months,
he may have much better control of larger muscles, such as his hands, to start
his own sign language to communicate with you.
It is a misconception that learning sign language will delay a baby’s
ability to learn his spoken language; quite the contrary, learning sign
language will accelerate the process of learning the spoken language. As a
matter of fact, your baby will drop his sign language as soon as he learns how
to say the word for that sign. Learning sign language is a bridge to developing
your baby’s speech, expression, and overall communication skills. So, do teach
your baby sign language, allowing him to communicate with you long before he
can use his speech.
Benefits
Baby sign language is proven to enhance babies’ brain development in
addition to its many other benefits:
Your baby can communicate with you
before he masters his own language skills. Research has shown that children of
deaf parents are able to communicate earlier than children of hearing parents.
Your baby gets a smart start with
increased vocabulary and more advanced cognitive skills to enhance his
subsequent speech development.
Your baby’s sign language helps your
baby become more sociable because his brain is smart-wired to reading the body
language of others.
Your baby’s sign language smart-wires
his brain for solving-problem ability.
You know exactly what your baby wants
without second guessing.
A research study indicated that
eight-year-olds with baby sign language training as infants had an average IQ
12 points above those without the training.
Your baby has a better bonding with
you.
Teach your baby simple signs for basic activities, such as diaper changing,
eating, milking, and sleeping. Being able to communicate his needs avoids a lot
of frustrations and crying. Remember, your baby is unable to learn if he is
feeling frustrated, uncomfortable, and insecure.
Simple Steps
Start with teaching your baby some simple signs. Your baby will want to
mimic your signs. Once your baby signs back, then praise him, and repeat until
he masters them. As your baby gets better at signing, then proceed to teaching
him a few more signs to increase his vocabulary.
Say the word clearly and slowly,
demonstrate the sign—repeat and repeat—in relation to what you are doing, for
example, changing diaper, drinking milk,
or eating.
Do praise and encourage your baby,
even if he is signing incorrectly.
Be creative in using signs for
different objects and situations that your baby enjoys.
Simple Signs
Teach your baby simple signs from the very beginning of his life. Your baby
may not know what you are doing, but perform those simple signs until you have
mastered them, and they have become second nature to you.
Teach your baby the sign of “mommy”:
Extend and spread out your fingers
(of the right or left hand) with your pinky finger pointing forward, and your
thumb touching your chin.
Smile, and gently say “Mommy” slowly
and clearly every time you approach your baby.
Teach your baby the sign of “hunger”:
Make your hand into the shape as if
you were holding some food in your hand, with your palm facing you.
Place your hand near your mouth as if
you were eating the food in your hand.
Then slowly move your hand downward
into your tummy, while saying the word “hungry.”
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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