Home | List of Articles about Babies | Submit a Baby Related Article | Contact Us

Using Baby Signing To Communicate With Your Young Child

Baby Signing..

Around 20 years ago, two American doctors discovered baby signing and many thousands of mothers are glad they did!

There are many reasons why babies cry. You could no doubt come up with a long list of reasons, but frustration is probably low on the list if it's there at all.

Baby can't talk yet but wants to tell you how she is feeling: hungry, tired, sad, my nappy needs changing (although you can probably smell that!) or whatever; but she can't. It's enough to make anyone want to scream!! Wouldn't it be great if you could communicate with baby and she with you before she can talk? You can, it's called baby signing.

Many babies know how to wave goodbye, or shake their heads to say 'no', baby signing is just an extension of these basic signs. There are several books on baby signing, all of which show you the signs you can teach your child.

If My Child Communicates By Signing, Will This Delay Her Talking?

A common question usually prompted because 'my mother-in-law says..'!! The answer is 'no'. A $500.000 government funded survey found that babies using signing were more advanced than other children in language skills. Just as babies learn to crawl before they can walk, baby signing gives them a way to communicate before they can talk. Once they can walk they no longer crawl, and once they can talk they are able to communicate more fully and easily, so there is no longer a need to sign.

Babies Learn Words Before They Can Talk

A recent study has found that children under 1 year old are already learning to match words with common objects.

The study involved 52 9 month old babies who were shown pictures of common objects like apples, fish and chairs during simple games 4 times a week. After 3 months the children were tested: they were shown pairs of pictures and asked to identify one of them based on what the researcher said. The children scored if they looked at the correct picture.

Children who had been through the training sessions looked at the correct pictures, untrained children in a control group did not identify the correct pictures.

So, it appears as though young children may understand more than experts previously thought. Which leads us back to baby signing: if children are able to understand but not yet able communicate through speech, baby signing is surely the answer. How much calmer life with your youngster would be if she is able to tell you what she needs, and you can similarly 'talk' to her.

About the Author

Tony Luck runs a website offering advice to new moms. Included is the fascinating Chinese Conception Chart which is supposed to tell you whether the child you are expecting will be a girl or boy!

Related Articles about Babies:

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos - Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way to preserve life long memories. Baby pictures can also make great postcards, keepsakes, or baby shower gifts. Here are some simple tips to get great baby pictures: 1) Avoid bright light - Babies are especially sensitive to bright light including harsh sunlight and flash photography. If possib ...

What to Look For When Choosing Baby Furniture - If you're a new parent, be aware that you baby will probably spend more time in the nursery than anywhere else. So you do need to make it absolutely safe and comfortable. Make it attractive and well organized too. To get started, decide which furniture you need. These include: cribs, crib mattresses, bassinets, cradles, Moses baskets and c ...

Does The Size Of Your Baby Matter? - Does size matter? No, not that! Is your baby too fat, too thin, is she eating too much or not enough? Not only have you got your weight to worry about, now there's two of you! In the first week your baby will lose weight, about 5-8% of her birth weight. Don't be alarmed, this is perfectly natural. She built up a store of fat to help her co ...

History of the Baby Shower - Although the exact history of baby showers is unknown, what we do know is that they are all special and the ideal way to celebrate new life. Historians have not been able to pinpoint the exact beginning of this custom but evidence has been discovered that leads us to believe that some type of baby shower took place in many ancient cultures to inclu ...

Help Your Baby Develop Character - How Can We Help Children Learn about Character? Children learn about strong character when parents and other adults in their daily lives · set a good example through their own behavior and actions, · set and communicate high standards and clear expectations, · coach them on how to be responsible and kind, and

New Moms Share their Picks for the Best (and Worst) Baby Gifts - To find out what the perfect baby gift is, we went right to the source – new moms! We surveyed more than 200 moms to find out what gifts they loved, and which ones they wish they hadn’t of received. Here's what we learned... The 5 Favorite Baby Gifts We weren't surprised by the item most moms were glad they received. A whopping 52.7% of moms cho ...

Helping Your Baby Develop Character - How Can We Help Children Learn about Character? Children learn about strong character when parents and other adults in their daily lives · set a good example through their own behavior and actions, · set and communicate high standards and clear expectations, · coach them on how to be responsible and kind, and · use ...

For a Complete list of articles about babies Click Here