Why Sign? Giving your baby a head start
At just 6 months old, a baby's motor skills are sufficiently developed to make simple gestures, enabling them to bridge the communication gap and show their parents what they need. To put this into perspective, at 12-15 months babies will only have around ten words - most of which will be unclear leading to frustrating periods for toddlers as they try to communicate using their just-developing speech.
"Who wouldn’t want their child to be the first amongst their peers to be communicating, to be the most chilled out, to be happier, to have a real head-start?" Ben, baby signing Daddy to Fin
Studies have highlighted the detrimental effects of stress in babies under 36 months and using signing can so easily be used as a tool to relieve that.
The most popular misconception that we come across is the belief that baby signing delays speech. This couldn't be further from the truth and the evidence clearly shows that signing babies have more words and more complex speech at an earlier age – if signing is done correctly. The benefits of learning to sign continue well into childhood, with studies showing signing children being significantly ahead of non signing children at aged 8 (Acredolo and Goodwyn 2000).
In fact, the benefits of signing do not end when speech begins. As babies become toddlers, there is even more need for signing as frustration really manifests itself at this difficult transition age; signing is particularly beneficial from 12 months onwards as it's been suggested that up to 90% of toddler tantrums are linked to their need to eat, drink, sleep or receive comfort. These are very easy signs to implement and use at this critical age, restoring calm for everyone and enhancing bonding.
Click HERE for additional resources on how to build your child's language skills.
