Simplifying Parenthood Through Baby Sign Language
(While I’m busy snuggling my newborn, I’m thrilled to share this guest post by Ross from PRosscess. Three cheers for the first male writer on Simply Rebekah!!!)
“I’m not a mindreader.”
At some point this may have been said (or shrieked) in your household from one spouse to the other. And while it is frustrating to try to communicate with someone who won’t communicate, it’s even more frustrating to communicate with someone who can’t.
The problem with children is not only do they fail to come with an instruction manual, they also don’t come with the ability to let them know where you should be looking in said imaginary manual. So until they learn to speak, there’s a possibility that they cry, then you try to figure out why until you cry, while your older child tapes the whole thing and puts it on YouTube, causing your mom to see it and call to tell you what you’re doing wrong.
This is where baby sign language comes in.
When we were expecting our first son (who is now three) and my wife brought up the idea of baby sign language. I was not on board. Granted, the only knowledge I had on the subject was gleaned from the cinematic classic Meet the Fockers. For some reason Jay Roach’s epic didn’t get me excited about the concept. But, like any good husband, I told my pregnant wife I was willing to give it a try.
We used Baby Sign Language for Hearing Babies by Karyn Warburton as a reference. It’s an excellent resource that not only explains how to approach the concept, but it also includes a great dictionary of signs.
Something important to know about baby sign language, that I didn’t know going in, is that it’s a very fluid concept. Like just everything in the adventure of parenting, every child is going to handle it differently.
Our older son started picking it up a little earlier than our youngest (11 months). How early they start signing back can depend on what other skills they’re working on as they tend to work on one big thing at a time. Our youngest, for example, is currently working on finding a way to move faster and more strategically to better get into everything he’s not supposed to. That takes too much time and mental capacity to focus on communicating.
They also won’t necessarily go by the book (surprise!). Our elder son made up his own signs for quite a few things before we had a chance to teach him the “real” sign. This is great because it’s stimulating creativity and also showing that they’re enjoying being able to communicate.
You also need to go at their pace. Begin with just one sign. Milk is a great one to start with because it can be used regularly for a important need. After they start signing that you add another and then another and so on. They will pick up on some faster than others, but you don’t want to overwhelm them.
My early reservations about baby sign language were quickly forgotten. It makes life so much easier and less stressful when your child can just tell you what they need.
By the time our older son was talking, he could sign more words than I can remember. He knew foods, animals, emotions, household items and so much more. As he learned to talk he could still switch back and forth when there was something he didn’t know how to verbalize.
Now that his little brother is starting to learn to sign, he’s excited for the possibility to better communicate with his brother and is all over the signing again.
If you have a little one, or have one on the way, I can’t recommend looking into baby sign language enough. After using it with our first, not using it with our second would seem as silly as not teaching him to talk. The faster you can get to know your child and what they need the better. Even if the method was a tired running gag in a Ben Stiller movie.
A Note From Rebekah: We used sign language with Grace and LOVED it. Our signs focused on meal time, which is a time when better communication really comes in handy. We used signs for words like: eat, drink, more, and all done. Besides concentrating on meal time signing, here are my 2 tips: 1) Be sure you are using American Sign Language and not generic baby signs, which can be found in some baby signing books. If you are taking time to teach your children, you might as well teach them a real language. 2) Be patient! You’ll be signing to your baby for a long time (maybe months!) before they start to sign back. Keep it up though. It is worth it!
What are your thoughts on baby sign language? Is it something you would try?
A happily married father of two, Ross is currently managing in corporate America while his writing degree collects dust and student loan interest. He is slowly starting his own blog, PRosscess, and you can read his occasional tweets here.
All photos by Ross. This post contains an affiliate link. Thank you for supporting Simply Rebekah!