Parents can introduce baby sign language to their infants by including it into everyday routines, such as nursing or giving the bottle. You could, for instance, make the sign for milk (an open and closed fist) when feeding your infant or giving her/him medicine.
Babies often learn to associate certain signs with specific objects or animals, like “dog” for Clifford or “cat” for the family cat – making communication simpler for both parties involved. This makes communicating needs much simpler!
Feeding
Signing can help young children express themselves without recourse to tantrums and behavior problems (i.e. tantrums). By communicating through signing, children can get their needs met before turning verbal.
Begin signing with infants around 6 months, when they show an interest in communicating via waving and pointing at desired objects. However, many infants can learn this skill even earlier depending on their individual developmental schedules.
Start out slowly and consistently using signs that relate to things your baby experiences on a regular basis, like milk. Repetition is important – even if an infant does not react positively to the initial 4-5 signs you present.
Potty Training
Baby sign language should be introduced when your infant begins showing an active interest in communicating. Generally, this happens around 6 months old but some parents opt to introduce hand signs sooner while others wait until closer to a year has passed before starting sign language with their infants.
Be patient and consistent in your efforts. Like with speech, early attempts by your infant at signing may not be perfect – that’s okay; research has demonstrated that iconic gestures that represent objects more accurately tend to be easier for babies to interpret than vaguer gestures.
Implement the appropriate sign when performing daily activities with your child, such as diaper changes and book reading. Doing this will keep you connected to them more intimately and provide them with a way of self-expression; additionally, this may help alleviate frustrated crying jags since your infant will now have a way of telling you what they want or need.
Bedtime
Signing with your infant can also serve as an effective way of communicating with adults involved in his/her care, such as babysitters or daycare providers, who will ensure all caregivers understand your child’s requests.
When teaching new signs, try to use natural gestures when possible. For instance, the sign for “book” involves clasping hands together with pinkies touching (imagine cracking open a book). The more often your child witnesses you using this sign to indicate books the better it will work for him/her.
Remember that infants will make signs their own just like spoken language; this is normal and allows your infant to develop an extensive sign vocabulary. Begin signing for routine activities or objects in your baby’s life like “bath.” Take it slowly but be consistent if you want your infant to quickly pick up these signs!
Routine
Signing can help your baby express themselves before they have words for it – often leading to less frustration for both parent and baby alike! Many signing babies also experience less temper tantrums.
Make sure to incorporate signs into daily routines so your infant becomes familiar with them, such as “milk”, “eat” and “water”. Signs such as these could prove particularly helpful.
Consider teaching family and friends who interact with your baby the basic signs so that they can assist with communicating. Engaging others will also make your baby feel more at ease when using signs.
Consider this: while your baby’s early attempts at gesturing may not be perfect, with time they will become better. Reward their efforts with praise and rewards – don’t add more pressure than necessary; simply practice until eventually your little one will start communicating with you!https://www.youtube.com/embed/GI_KoHTgfjw