Crying is communicating, and babies start to communicate straight from birth.  Language (especially English) is a very difficult concept to learn for developing children. That said, they have an immediate desire to connect both physically with their parents, but also socially using whatever form of communication they can. Babies are able to move their hands and limbs far before they are able to manage sounds required for speech. Introducing sign language to your  hearing baby is an excellent way to advance their spoken skills, and reduce their frustration and crying.

Teaching your baby sign language takes time, but it is worth it, and has been show to actually acelerate spoken language skills rather than delay them.  Babies first need to develop sufficient motor skills in order to coordinate their limbs and fingers to put together decipherable signs.  Often a child can start to be taught signing by as early as 6 months.  You must be patient, however, since it often takes 2 to 3 months for your baby to play their first sign back to you.

It’s also important to focus on the most basic and simple signs first.  The sign for “more” (two hands touching in front with fingers together) is quite an easy, and often used sign.  Others like “drink” (suck on index or any finger and then pull it out) is also a common one, and easy for any 1 year old to handle.  Sleep (two hands flat together beside head) is a favourite for both kids and more importantly parents, and again simple to learn.  Parents can also customize their own signs based on their child’s likes and preferences, rather than just going “by the book”.  Our sign for “poo” was simply patting a bum.

Written By: Chris Charlwood

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