Baby Sign Language

They told me babies should not be held: It would spoil them and make them cry, I wished to do what is best for them, And the years went swiftly by. Now empty are my yearning arms; No more than thrill sublime. If I had my babies back again, I'd hold them all the time!

Look Who's Signing! By Barbara Neal Varma New mom Diane Grier knew in her heart that her fussy baby was trying to tell her something. She just didn't know what. But she'd seen all the media play about signing with babies and decided gave it a try, only to find a new frustration at not being able to master the signs quickly. What Diane didn’t realize is that learning a new language can be difficult, especially for adults, our mature brains riddled with older, less absorbent brain cells. Add in the fact that Sign language is conveyed in a different mode altogether—visual as opposed to audible—and you can have, well, a real challenge on your hands. I can help. I’m a Sign language interpreter and Sign instructor. While it’s true that new moms and college students have very different schedules, they share the stress of a busy pace. I believe strategies that work with my students can work for you, too. Just ask Diane. She is proud to report that her daughter Kayla just signed her first word—not “mommy,” she laughs, but “more.” You, too, can learn to sign with your child and start a dialogue that lasts a lifetime. Here are some common problems and solutions to help you along the way:

Problem: You forget how to do the sign.

The cause: Forgetting how to sign a word is a common problem for parents wanting to learn to sign. New signers often underestimate the complexity of learning even a simple set of signs—especially when lulled by pictures of smiling babies signing from their high chairs. This misconception plus the lack of spare time often causes mommy and daddy to fail to practice as much as they should, impeding their progress even further.

What you can do: The good news is you don’t have to learn every sign. Your child is a hearing child; he or she is destined to hear and learn spoken English. The only signs new parents need to know are signs that are relevant to their child’s world, such as “bottle,” “bath,” “sleepy,” “hungry,” and certainly, “I love you.”

Standard memorization techniques work just as well with Sign Language as they do for any memory task. The key is to add new signs to the day’s routine. Have a pen and notepad handy to jot down words and activities that come up often during the day. Limit the list to no more than ten to begin with. Share the list with other family members so you’re all learning the same signs together. Select a “sign of the day” from the list and emphasize its use with baby. My students often use flash cards to help them remember the signs. You can make your own or purchase one of the new baby signs flashcards on the market. When those pesky TV commercials come on, grab the cards you’ve readied on the coffee table, and practice away.

Problem: Your child signed back! But you can’t understand what she said.

The cause: As hearing human beings we’re dependent on sound to comprehend language. But Sign Language is dependent on sight. Objects, ideas, and concepts are all conveyed through visual means. That’s a big deal for us hearing folks, relying as we do on our intake of audible information to process meaning. Learning to sign means learning to “hear” with your eyes, to understand a message visually received. That’s not something you can do overnight. The first few times your baby copies your signs, you might not recognize or understand what she is trying to say, especially when tiny hands don’t yet perform the signs to perfection.

What you can do: As you and your child go through your day, watch for pictures, symbols, objects and actions—the visual cues in your environment. Your baby is doing exactly the same thing when she looks at the world around her. Next, start practicing some signs that have “visual logic.” In other words, they look like what they mean. The sign for “drink,” for instance, is performed by pretending to drink from a cup raised to your lips. To sign “eat,” simply hold an imaginary cookie in your hand and bring it toward your mouth. Signs representing animals hold the most visual logic and are fun to learn. Use your hand to outline the shape and sway of an elephant’s trunk, stroke the whiskers sprouting from the corner of your smile for “cat,” pat your leg and snap your fingers to sign “dog.” (Don’t be surprised if Rover runs into the room.)

Of course, not all signs will have this picture-perfect format to make them easy to comprehend but almost all will have an association with the sign’s origin and intent. Take the time to make a connection in your mind between a sign and its English equivalent and you’ll find the signs easier to understand.

Problem: Your child is not signing.

The cause: Experts say most babies will start responding to signs at around 8 to 10 months, but the range of understanding is vast. So while your child is likely, almost certainly, comprehending the signs you are demonstrating, he might simply be taking the time to process the data, waiting and watching, until his brain and hands are ready to begin.

What you can do: Just knowing that children’s language development skills vary will make you less anxious. While your baby may be slow to demonstrate his skill, his brain is processing the information and making good sense of it.

In addition to reading to your baby, pop in a video that teaches Sign language to children, such as one of the Sign me a Story series that portray classic fairy tales in Sign and watch it together. This can help you learn as well. The fact that you’ve heard the tales a thousand times before makes the signs easier to understand. Soon you and your child will be signing along with “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” not to mention imitating the “Big Bad Wolf!”—appropriate expression required.

Problem: You worry that teaching your baby to sign will inhibit her speech development.

The cause: Until the 1980s, many believed that learning Sign language would delay vocal speech. It wasn’t so long ago that educators of deaf children urged parents to ban Sign from the home if their deaf or hard of hearing child was to ever learn to speak.

What you can do: If your child has reached the age of two without uttering a word, you might want to consult your pediatrician, but remember speech skills vary greatly from child to child. There is a small chance your child has a hearing problem or other impairment that prevents her from forming words, but it’s more likely that she will develop speech at a normal pace and, in fact, using signs can speed up the process.

Studies show children who sign have a facility in both Sign language and English. By the age of 19 months you can expect your baby to display a rich vocabulary of about 100 words and 40 signs. According to a study by Dr. Linda Acredolo, psychologist and co-founder of the baby signs movement, “Babies who use signs have higher IQs and speak words earlier.”

However, giving a baby an edge is not the reason to sign, Acredolo cautions. “It’s not a ‘better baby’ gimmick. We really feel the gift is to the parent-infant relationship. The main reason to do it is to enable the baby to communicate what they need and see, to share their world with you.”

Barbara Neal Varma has written for ByLine magazine, Savvy Women.com, Senior Living newspaper and others. Her essays have won awards from Writer’s Digest magazine, the National Writers Association and Anthology magazine. Barbara is currently working on Interpreting Life, a memoir based on her career as a Sign Language interpreter. Visit her web site at: www.BarbaraNealVarma.com

Comment on this article.

Slings & Baby Carriers
Babywearing- How to Choose the Just Right Carrier... more>>>

The Un-Nursery
Nursery decorating tips for the attachment parenting family... more>>>

Too Child Centered?
Does attachment parenting pit parents against children?... more>>>

A Slice of Life
Read an account of a day in the life of an AP family... more>>>

What is AP?
Attachment Parenting Defined... more>>>

Mommythink Feed