Baby Sign Language
What is Baby Sign Language?
It’s about communication, it’s a simple and effective way of communicating with your baby until they find the words. It is a loving and valuable tool to teach your baby to let you know she is hungry or tired - she can share what excites her, what she is thinking or feeling.
My own experience as a signing mom:
I was astounded when my little boy Damian, who was 12 months at the time, suddenly called me and showed me the sign for bird after he drew a picture for his grandfather’s birthday. At first I wasn’t sure what he was trying to tell me until he drew some more and showed the sign for bird again. I asked him, ‘are you drawing a bird?’ The delight on my little boy’s face was so precious as he was able to make himself understood. He was able to have a meaningful interaction with me. Can you imagine what that does to a small child’s self esteem? Babies can start signing back from as early as 6 months and can have a signing vocabulary of close to 75 words by the time they are 9 months old. You can teach your baby to sign from about 6 months but if you have an older baby who is, for example, 16 months and not talking yet, it’s still not too late to start teaching them too.
Will signing delay my child’s speech?
One of the common myths is that if a child learns Sign Language that they will be less likely to speak, but the opposite is actually true. With signing, babies are exposed to the concepts of language at a much younger age, they are able to define concepts and should they sign the word ‘cat’ for dog they are likely to be corrected and the correct concept will be reinforced. Their attention is brought to the different characteristics of animals such as the long neck of the giraffe, the cat’s whiskers or the beak of a bird. Not only is it exciting for the parents but babies love the visual movement and shapes of the signs. Generally babies love to mimic and will learn to wave good bye and blow a kiss. Unfortunately the amount of signs they will use is limited without our help. While teaching your child to sign you are also motivated to “pour language onto them” and it motivates you to bathe them in the richness of language.
What are some of the benefits of signing?
It’s been proven through more than two decades of research that children who learnt signing as babies, have a larger vocabulary, better understanding of grammar and sounds, better literacy and more sophisticated play, it builds their self esteem, enhances the baby’s memory, increases IQ levels and reduces frustration between parent and child. Frustration will always be a part of growing up and parenting, but at least the frustration will not be due to a lack of communication. Another very important benefit is the fact that it promotes multilingualism. The concept of a word is represented by the sign and the sign can be applied to different languages. This is extremely beneficial, especially in a country that has 11 official languages..
How easy is it to learn to sign to my baby?
The entire signing process is fun and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. As baby starts understanding the signs she will begin to use them to help her be understood. Gradually as baby’s’ fine motor skills develop, which is needed for speech, she will move over to verbal communication. While teaching your baby you always have to say the word while showing the sign, after all our ultimate goal is spoken language. How often do you find yourself in the similar night time routine where you put your baby to bed and she simply won’t stop crying you go through the motions: she’s had a bath, been fed, the room is warm and comfortable, soft classical music is playing in the background, you’ve even read a story. So what could be wrong? First thing that pops into your mind is ‘baby is tired or more than likely teething’. What if she is still hungry or would like some water? This is something I experienced with my own child over and over again. Being able to establish what baby still wants has helped us tremendously and leads to easier and more peaceful nights.
What amazed me is how much babies and toddlers know long before they can actually speak. They have a much better understanding of what goes on around them than what we give them credit for. It’s not about rushing them to speak either, each baby develops at their own pace but imagine how much they see and experience everyday that they would love to share with us?. My little boy would read me a story, getting very excited as he used the signs of the animals and their different characteristics. It is such precious time, giving you a glimpse of what goes on in your baby’s mind.
I do believe we are bombarded with so much information especially as first time moms. Our babies are being over stimulated with all the latest technology and research and it’s impossible to take on everything that is out there and with our busy lifestyles we all want to make the right choices. Baby Sign Language is there to help, to assist our babies until they are able to find the words. It’s a natural process and we are building on what comes naturally to our babies. Teach your baby to sign and be amazed and surprised to find out what they are thinking and feeling.
Baby Hands SA is South Africa’s leading Academy of Baby Sign Language and facilitates parent workshops. We cover everything you need to know in order to learn to sign to your baby. For more information visit our web site: www.babyhands.co.za where you can find Baby Hands instructors who offer parent workshops or you can contact Clea 021 948 2740.
A little bit about Baby Hands S.A.:
Baby Hands S.A. is South Africa's leading Baby Sign Language Academy specializing in workshops and classes for hearing babies and toddlers.
Baby Sign Language is a huge international phenomenon which is now available in South Africa. We can teach baby’s to sign from as early as 6 months old and bridge the communication gap between parent and child, minimizing frustration and fostering fun, until they find the words . . . The sign language however is also ideal for toddlers as old as 2 years of age, if they are not talking yet they can still benefit tremendously. Babies tend to loose interest in the signs once they start speaking. This is a concern parents often have as they feel their baby will be discouraged to speak if they can sign. The opposite is true, it motivates them to speak, and in many cases accelerates language development.
Parent Workshop:
The workshop is a once-off parent workshop, which usually takes about 2-3 hours. It includes a DVD with over 160 South African signs, a wall chart, a booklet, pen, bag and a certificate of completion. We cover everything from the history of Baby Signing to the research; how to tell if a baby is ready and you leave knowing over 40 signs. Workshops are offered in Afrikaans and English. Costs: R470 per person, R790 per couple.
The workshop covers:
• Background on Baby Sign Language
• Why use South African Sign Language (SASL)?
• Summary of Academic studies
• How language is acquired – developmental theorists
• Benefits of Signing With Babies
• Dispelling the Myth
• How to tell when your baby is ready
• Categories of signs
• Baby Hands Steps to Signing
• Signs to begin with
• Transition from signing to spoken language
• Baby Signing Games
• Language milestones in a baby’s life
• Development of general verbal language skills
We also teach games and activities to encourage speech and language development.
As from 2009 I will be introducing Sign and Rhyme weekly classes. Please visit www.signandrhyme.co.uk to get a better idea what it’s all about.
For more information visit our web site: www.babyhands.co.za where you can find Baby Hands instructors who offer parent workshops or you can contact Clea 021 948 2740.
