An Easy Introduction for Parents
Do you ever wonder what your baby (or grandchild) is thinking when she’s gazing at the things surrounding her crib? Were you ever confused as to what's really bothering her when she’s crying? Of course the answer is Yes!
Teaching little ones how to communicate with sign language is not new, but it may be new to you. Many parents are learning to take advantage of their babies’ natural desire to communicate their wishes—and whole families are benefitting from the reduced stress.
Signing Reduces Tantrums
Tantrums are often caused by toddlers’ inability to bridge the communication gap. When toddlers are able to convey the things that they want and they feel understood as a result, their level of frustration diminishes significantly. Parents can reduce the number of toddler tantrums by teaching their babies to sign as early as 6 months.
Signing with your baby is easy and natural. As they grow, infants develop the fine muscles in their hands and arms before they develop speech. You can start to teaching signing between 6 to 9 months when your baby starts learning how to mimic.
Begin at Meal Times
Teaching your child how to use specific hand shapes and motions takes practice, patience, and sensitivity to teachable moments. You can start with 3 to 5 signs that help during meal times. The most common signs to begin with are "milk," "more," and "eat." You will probably be learning along with your child, so a handful of signs is a manageable number to begin with.
If your baby seems resistant, don't push the issue. Let him develop at his own pace. Sometimes, your baby will make up his own signs. If that’s the case, make sure you use his signs and gestures, as he will remember these more easily.
For the best results, try to make it a family habit. Anyone who interacts with your baby regularly should know his most important signs. This will help your baby learn much faster.
Video: Signing in Action
Here’s a short video featuring instructor Laura Berg of My Smart Hands who demonstrates signing with her own baby. Impressive isn’t it? You might consider taking a class, buying a book or a DVD to learn more signing skills. A search on the internet will produce a variety of resources. Happy babies equal happy families!
Related
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But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." (Matt 19:14 NLT)
Top Photo: Baby Sign Language ("I love you")
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Do you know anyone who has tried signing with children? Were they successful?
4 Comments:
Hay girl hope your well
I taught the kids sign even while we were in Russia getting ready to get them out of the orphanage. It is a wonderful way to free a child pre verbal from the frustrations of not being understood. It is a language of concepts apposed to definitions of words. How can on define something when you do not know what it even is?
A friend of mine adopted a baby from China when the child was a year old. They used sign language to bridge the language barrier until she learned English and it worked quite well.
Amazing! It was easier teaching one son to sign his name instead of spell his name. He was later diagnosed with Central Auditory Processing Disorder, which explained that.
I have an award for you over at my place. When you have time, please stop by to pick it up:)
Donetta said:
Hay girl hope your well
I taught the kids sign even while we were in Russia getting ready to get them out of the orphanage. It is a wonderful way to free a child pre verbal from the frustrations of not being understood. It is a language of concepts apposed to definitions of words. How can on define something when you do not know what it even is?
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