There comes an age when babies understand very well what is said to them, but they still do not know how to speak, respond or express themselves. This is very frustrating for young children. Imagine yourself in their place: they talk to you all day, without you being able to respond to anything. Not very funny, right?
Unfortunately at this age, they often express this frustration through screaming and crying, without anyone understanding what is happening to them.
So why not implement another means of communication than speaking?
Sign language for babies, is it really essential?
An American study showed that children of deaf and/or hard of hearing parents had a more developed communication capacity, thanks to precise gestures to make themselves understood.
Children born to hearing parents who do not use these gestures begin to communicate with words around 1.5 years of age. Obviously, it depends on each child, sometimes it's not until much later. As we often say, everyone has their own pace!
Today we answer the many questions you may have about practicing sign language with a baby:
Do you need to know sign language to sign with your baby?
No, that's not necessary at all. Sign language is a language in its own right where each word of a sentence must be signed, conjugated and punctuated.
With your baby, you will only sign words that are important for his learning. No need to learn all of sign language for this. It is true that the signs you will use are taken from French sign language, but to make yourself understood by your baby, and to understand him, only a few words from your daily life will be useful to you. We will only mime the essential words, those which will be part of their daily life, yours, and which meet a need.
Example: “We’re going to drink the bottle.” You will only sign the word “drink” with the sign “eat”, because its need will be that of nourishment, of eating.
How to learn sign language for babies?
This method of dialogue is becoming more and more widespread in France and everywhere else. There are therefore more and more workshops to learn this language. Find out more from nurseries, baby associations or even your town hall.
Like any new language, it takes learning, motivation and practice. But if you learn sign language to communicate with your baby, you will only need to learn about ten gestures. Nothing too complicated!
You can also get books that deal with learning sign language for babies, like this one:
When to start signing with your baby?
There is no age to learn to sign. You can start very early to get used to this method yourself. It is only from 6-7 months that babies develop the ability to memorize and therefore begin to understand certain things.
You can start signing at 10 months, at 18 months it doesn't matter. Adapt sign language according to their age. For example, you can learn the expression of emotions around your baby's 18 months.
The important thing is that you, as parents, want it.
When will my baby be able to sign?
It is around 8 – 10 months of age that the baby will have intentional movements, when his motor skills will be well developed.
The earlier you start, the more your baby will have seen your signs, the more it will be anchored in his memory and habits. There's no point starting at 2 months either, your baby won't be able to understand you and you risk losing patience.
You should know that there is always a lapse of time between the moment you start signing and the moment your baby makes his first signs. These first signs will not be very precise, somewhat messy at first. He will be in the learning and improvement phase. Just like language, first attempts are never perfect. It comes with encouragement and practice.
Some tips to make this method a real moment of complicity and sharing:
Tip #1:
Dear parents, be patient. Everything doesn't happen overnight. This has to be learned and it can take time.
Tip #2:
Start signing 2 – 3 words initially to avoid confusion.
Prefer everyday words that will be useful to make you understood and especially to understand him when he knows how to use them, such as: eat, sleep, change diaper
Tip #3:
Do not ban the use of speech. Even when you sign, put words to your gestures. This way, he will know that a particular word is associated with a particular gesture. At the same time, this will promote his learning to speak.
Tips #4:
Also use sign language when reading stories. If there are important words from your daily life that you already sign, consider reproducing them during the stories. Also show the images by putting the right words and gestures on each drawing.
Be careful, the goal is not to overwhelm him with new signs. Add a sign each time the previous signs are acquired.
Here you will find a guide to the first 20 signs to teach your baby
A child who signs early is a child who is likely to speak sooner.
