5-Day Baby Sign E-Course, Day 2
When Should We Start?
& Small Gift (at bottom :-)
When Can We Teach Our Infant How to Use Signing?
Hi there, Baby Signer! So yesterday on Day 1 we learned about the benefits of signing with our little ones. We learned that the visual supplementing of signs helps babies in several ways, from intellectual benefits, to excellent verbal skills, enhanced trust and bonding, to awesome social advantages that other babies typically do not have access to.
First, let's get rid of a myth right away: A common (and
understandable) beginning concern that parents ask about is if signing
with babies will delay their speech skills? The short answer is No.
Studies have shown that rather than delaying verbal language, signing babies actually did much better with verbal skills both when they first began talking and even much later when they were in school, surpassing their non-signing counterparts!
Awesome yes? So, after learning all the cool stuff signing does for our little ones, it's time to know the next step --
Today we're going to talk about WHEN we should start learning sign and and when we can start teaching our babies!
So When Should I Teach My Baby or Toddler Signs?
Sign language is best taught to your baby when they are between four and eight months of age.
Some
parents start earlier, and some start later. There are reasons for the
variations of time ranges. Sometimes parents start after the age of 8
months, because they may have just only heard about the wonders of baby
signing! Some parents start sooner than 4 months due to excitement and
wanting to simply get started earlier. :-)
But typically, most parents start teaching babies sign language at around 4 to 6 months.
Why This Age Range?
At this age range, babies can regularly hold a gaze for at least a few seconds. It's important that your baby is able to hold an eye gaze for at least 2 - 3 seconds.
Again, this is due to the importance of establishing eye contact with
your little one, to be able to begin (teaching) signing.
Speaking is, of course, the main goal. So typically parents speak the words included along with the signs.
Babies usually start off learning two to three signs. (You will see these signs in action on Day 4!)
So we now know that: eye contact is a must and word emphasis with speech is a big help.
Other Ways to Know When Your Baby Is Ready to Learn Signing
As you can see, the time to begin baby sign language instruction varies! But a great indication to begin teaching your baby signs is when your baby begins to mimic hand motions.
Can your little sweetie make hand motions or do things like:
*Waving 'Hi' or waving 'Bye-Bye'?
*Blowing kisses yet?
*Shake her shoulders to mean "I don't know"?
*Nodding his head to mean "Yes"
*Shaking her head to mean "No"?
*Any dancing or mimicking clapping?
If so, she will be able to produce her first sign anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, if the instruction is consistent!
Just wait until your baby makes his first sign! It's the most exciting and the most heart-melting thing you've ever seen!
Ohhh, now it's getting even more fun! This is coming tomorrow! Stay tuned! :-)
Happy Learning!
MJ
Little Hands Express Signing Team
www.babiesandsignlanguage.com
P.S. Your mini-mini chart is shown below. If you are not able to see this chart, please simply let us know and we'll get ya fixed up with one! Happy Signing!
P.S. Use your special member's code "code10" (without the quotes), here: https://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/poster-set.html And get your entire baby sign language chart set for only $19!