Baby Signing for Hearing Babies: Discovering an Innovative Way to Communicate
As a parent or caregiver it can be overwhelming at times, to figure out what your child’s needs and wants are. You think they want one thing, but you try giving it them and they push it out of the way adding to their frustration that you, their parent or caregiver, just “doesn’t know” what it is they need or want. So, what does your child do? He begins or continues crying– only this time at a louder volume and you begin looking for anything you can to distract them. Keys jingling, crackers he loves, his reflections in the mirror…..but, nothing is working. You sit there and wish your child could talk and simply tell you what’s wrong or what he needs. Wouldn’t it be nice to alleviate some of their frustration (and yours) if your child simply had a way to communicate his needs?
How can I communicate with my child who is not using words yet? If you are like many parents out there, finding a way for your child to express his needs and desires is one area you will go to great lengths to figure out. Helping your child discover signs is a positive and encouraging way to teach another method of communication.
In today’s society, there is a growing wealth of knowledge and awareness which backs up babies really can recognize that a word, sign, or symbol can represent something else and have meaning behind it. According to Dr. Acredolo and Dr. Goodwyn, two decades of scientific research has shown the benefits of using sign language with hearing babies. In this study, language development and intellectual development seemed to be significantly greater in signing babies. At a later age these children had scored higher in IQ than their non-signing peers. This is just one example of one study. Other benefits of signing to hearing children include social-emotional benefits.
Discovering how to sign with your child as a way to communicate their needs leads to so many other advantages. Reflect on how you communicate with your babies and toddlers, and how your children express their needs. Ask yourself: If my child had a way to “show” me what he needed would he be less frustrated when I couldn’t simply figure out what he wants? Would I be more observant and learn to respond to my child’s needs if he knew how to sign as a means of communication? Baby signing is an innovative way to communicate and is booming in the United States and around the world.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Resources & Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
