Baby Sign Language Part I

Have any of you watched "Meet the Fockers 2"? I thought it was a hilarious show! Robert de Niro did an excellent job portraying a doting grandfather who communicates with his grandson by sign language...besides breastfeeding him through prosthetic breasts.

At that time, I was a bit skeptical (strangely, not about the prosthetic breasts...) because the sign language seemed a bit too sophisticated for a young toddler.

However, over time, after reading more and hearing other moms' testimonies about this form of communication, I suppose it is very possible to teach/train a young toddler to communicate through this method. I must admit I am not particularly experienced in this area as we got by using verbal reinforcements to our kids' requests and we understood what their cries meant. Then again, isn't it better if our toddlers, who have yet to verbalize, are able to 'speak' to us through other forms of language?  Every child develops at a different pace so for some, verbal language may develop earlier and for some, it may be later.

I found some interesting information about baby signing from Parenting science:

a) What is it?

- Research that supports the use of 'baby sign language' refers to encouraging babies to communicate with their hands, it is not the full-blown American Sign Language taught to people with hearing disabilities although we can teach babies that too. 

- That includes:

* Pointing at things of interest, and responding appropriately when babies point. (Example: When baby points at a cat, you say “That’s a cat!”)

* Actively teaching symbolic gestures--gestures that “stand for” something else (Example: To represent the concept of “food” or “eating,” you hold your fingers together, as if grasping something, and bring them to your lips)

* Responding to symbolic gestures that babies might invent (Example: Baby tugs at her shirt while she makes a questioning sound, meaning “Could you help me take off my shirt?”)

(Hey! Come to think of it, we have already been signing all along if we go by that definition!)

b) Why?

The reasons range from helping the babies to communicate, to picking up verbal language faster, meeting their needs to forming a stronger attachment between parents and child. Some even associate it with higher IQ but there seems to be insufficient studies or research to support that claim.

c) When to begin?

Most people begin at 6 months of age but some start earlier than that.

If you have been getting your baby to sign to you all this while, please share with us how you did it, at what age did your baby start signing and whether it affected verbal language in anyway?

Carpe Diem, ladies!

Becky