Baby Sign

Apr 12

Baby sign language is made up of a series of hand motions that you can teach your baby in order to better communicate with him or her. It appears to be possible for babies to learn sign before they even learn to say their first word. There is some compelling research that also suggests that the use of baby sign may actually promote verbal language development, among other developmental milestones.

Although the research on baby sign is still rather limited, a systematic review published in 2014 that looked at over 10 studies pertaining to baby sign language, determined that baby sign may help improve some areas of cognitive and social development. Some of the areas that were mentioned were, interaction with the parents, joint attention (when the baby realizes that they can get their parent’s attention and acts on it), and spoken language development (Fitzpatrick et al., 2014).

The time where parents typically begin to incorporate baby sign language is at around 6-8 months. Be it that babies typically only begin vocalizing true words at about 12 months, sign may be a great way to help your child grow his/her communication skills earlier on. Not only can it help them communicate effectively earlier, but it may help set them up for success as they get older. There is some great research to suggest that using sign with your baby may have a favorable impact on their vocabulary come kindergarten time (Rowe & Goldin-Meadow, 2009).

If parents and caregivers are consistent with teaching their baby sign, some babies may even be able to use two-phrase signs such as “more milk”, before they are even due to say their first word! This can be incredible to help parents de-code what their child may be wanting, and it can also be a great exercise to help enrich their ability to communicate.

Whether you just use one sign such as “more”, or you use several, consider if the use of baby sign is right for you and your Babba.

Here are some ideas of the signs you can use with your baby!