Miss-Delectable
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Baby talk | Health & Fitness | Life | Toronto Sun
Talk to me, baby! What parent doesn't wish that their baby or toddler could communicate instead of crying or throwing himself on the floor mid-tantrum? This frustration, common to all parents at times, is what drives the current fascination with baby sign language, a growing industry that now includes how-to books, dictionaries, signing songs, DVDs, and online support groups.
According to linguist Sara Bingham, babies understand what they see much earlier than typically expected, and are able to sign well before they are able to talk. The Brooklin, Ontario, mom is the founder of WeeHands, a sign language program, and the author of The Baby Signing Book (Robert Rose).
The theory behind signing's success is that eye-hand co-ordination develops in babies earlier than verbal skills. And since research indicates that one in ten children will have a speech or language delay (most often, boys), sign language gives them an alternative way to communicate and to build their vocabularies until they are able to speak.
I saw in my own family that baby signing can work: When Tommy, my grandson, tapped his fingers together to sign "more" when he wanted more play or more juice, we understood him even though he was just a year old and not yet talking. He was taught basic sign language at his daycare where it reaped obvious rewards for toddlers and their caregivers. Six months later, he could sign much more and when his speech kicked in, he even seemed ahead of the game.
Baby signing gained popularity in part because of the 2004 comedy Meet the Fockers in which Jack (Robert De Niro's character) had taught his one year-old grandson "Little Jack" sign language. But Bingham notes that sign language with babies goes back several decades, when it was discovered that babies born to Deaf people were able to use signs to communicate earlier than the babies born to hearing families started to speak.
One word that almost all babies sign is milk: With it, you make a fist with your right hand, palm facing left, and hand held at chest level. You open and close your fist several times (sort of like milking a cow) while repeating the word to your baby.
Along with providing a clear guide to the signing skills and strategies to get started, Bingham's book includes a pictorial dictionary of 350 signs. After basic signs such as milk, babies will sign things that they're interested in, Bingham told me. Most babies develop the motor skills to begin signing between eight and ten months of age, then expand their signing vocabulary into their toddler years.
"Two-thirds of a toddler's vocabulary is related to animals. We want them to sign diaper and change, but they are interested in signing about food and animals: Things they really want and things they want to talk about like dog and cat," Bingham explains.
Though there are a few different forms of baby signing, Bingham focuses on American Sign Language or ASL: It's the most common sign language and the live language of the North American Deaf community. Anyone can teach their child baby signing: All you need is patience and perseverance.
But baby signing has its critics, some of whom say that signing is just another example of obsessive parenting that includes not only signing but also teaching infants to swim and two year olds to read. Bingham instead sees the positive and emotional benefits that baby signing can promote: "When a baby sees that the parent 'gets them' it's gratifying to both." The connection and communication increases parent-baby attachment, she adds.
The charge that signing delays speech is unfounded, says Bingham. But she warns that baby signing isn't a cure-all for all our parenting woes: "The terrible twos are about not being understood and striving for independence. Signing can eliminate challenging miscommunication behaviors. But if your son wants to climb on top of the minivan, whether he can sign or not won't matter as he won't be allowed to do it."
Help at hand
There's plenty of help to get you signing. Check out the following:
Baby Sign Language Classes and Resources - WeeHands Baby Sign Language Inc.
• ASL • American Sign Language
Sign Language - ASL
Born2Sign - Infant Sign Language
Talk to me, baby! What parent doesn't wish that their baby or toddler could communicate instead of crying or throwing himself on the floor mid-tantrum? This frustration, common to all parents at times, is what drives the current fascination with baby sign language, a growing industry that now includes how-to books, dictionaries, signing songs, DVDs, and online support groups.
According to linguist Sara Bingham, babies understand what they see much earlier than typically expected, and are able to sign well before they are able to talk. The Brooklin, Ontario, mom is the founder of WeeHands, a sign language program, and the author of The Baby Signing Book (Robert Rose).
The theory behind signing's success is that eye-hand co-ordination develops in babies earlier than verbal skills. And since research indicates that one in ten children will have a speech or language delay (most often, boys), sign language gives them an alternative way to communicate and to build their vocabularies until they are able to speak.
I saw in my own family that baby signing can work: When Tommy, my grandson, tapped his fingers together to sign "more" when he wanted more play or more juice, we understood him even though he was just a year old and not yet talking. He was taught basic sign language at his daycare where it reaped obvious rewards for toddlers and their caregivers. Six months later, he could sign much more and when his speech kicked in, he even seemed ahead of the game.
Baby signing gained popularity in part because of the 2004 comedy Meet the Fockers in which Jack (Robert De Niro's character) had taught his one year-old grandson "Little Jack" sign language. But Bingham notes that sign language with babies goes back several decades, when it was discovered that babies born to Deaf people were able to use signs to communicate earlier than the babies born to hearing families started to speak.
One word that almost all babies sign is milk: With it, you make a fist with your right hand, palm facing left, and hand held at chest level. You open and close your fist several times (sort of like milking a cow) while repeating the word to your baby.
Along with providing a clear guide to the signing skills and strategies to get started, Bingham's book includes a pictorial dictionary of 350 signs. After basic signs such as milk, babies will sign things that they're interested in, Bingham told me. Most babies develop the motor skills to begin signing between eight and ten months of age, then expand their signing vocabulary into their toddler years.
"Two-thirds of a toddler's vocabulary is related to animals. We want them to sign diaper and change, but they are interested in signing about food and animals: Things they really want and things they want to talk about like dog and cat," Bingham explains.
Though there are a few different forms of baby signing, Bingham focuses on American Sign Language or ASL: It's the most common sign language and the live language of the North American Deaf community. Anyone can teach their child baby signing: All you need is patience and perseverance.
But baby signing has its critics, some of whom say that signing is just another example of obsessive parenting that includes not only signing but also teaching infants to swim and two year olds to read. Bingham instead sees the positive and emotional benefits that baby signing can promote: "When a baby sees that the parent 'gets them' it's gratifying to both." The connection and communication increases parent-baby attachment, she adds.
The charge that signing delays speech is unfounded, says Bingham. But she warns that baby signing isn't a cure-all for all our parenting woes: "The terrible twos are about not being understood and striving for independence. Signing can eliminate challenging miscommunication behaviors. But if your son wants to climb on top of the minivan, whether he can sign or not won't matter as he won't be allowed to do it."
Help at hand
There's plenty of help to get you signing. Check out the following:
Baby Sign Language Classes and Resources - WeeHands Baby Sign Language Inc.
• ASL • American Sign Language
Sign Language - ASL
Born2Sign - Infant Sign Language
Well, it would be nice if they just teach deaf babies to sign before they could speak. It'll be, with no doubt, better communication. Sighs. :roll: