How to use sign language to communicate with your baby

The baby cries incessantly and the mother acts by trial and error until she discovers what really ails him at that moment. This is a common picture in most families, and certainly she will never stop being. Some mothers, however, have tried a “different way”, teaching sign language to children who still don’t speak.

The initiative is based on some scientific studies from the last decades that revealed that babies, before they learn to speak, are able to communicate through gestures and signs quite easily. This is especially true between six and eight months of age.

The teaching of sign language, by the way, should not start to be taught before the age of six months, because it is believed that at this stage babies still do not have the memory so developed as to keep the gestures nor the motor coordination to perform. them successfully.

In the United States, the practice is now more common; in Brazil, it is still new to many people, but it has gained a lot of attention lately, mainly through videos on Youtube, where some mothers show how to teach sign language to the baby.

For those who bet on this idea, the justification is that sign language facilitates the baby’s communication with the family, until he learns to speak. But the benefits go beyond that!

It is worth noting, however, that the baby sign language mentioned here is not for the hearing impaired, but for children who do not yet speak, but will speak in the future.

What are the benefits of the practice?

Flavia Calina, 33 years old, Early Childhood Education professional, mother and Youtuber, is one of the mothers who have successfully spread the use of sign language through videos on Youtube. She says that, before having her daughter, she already knew that she would teach her sign language. “I worked for a few years as a baby teacher and learned a lot about the benefits and experienced it in practice with the babies I taught,” she says.

For Flávia, the main benefit of sign language is to give the baby an alternative to communicate without crying or getting frustrated. “Because when the baby doesn’t know how to speak, he looks for alternatives to be understood and crying is the means of communication they use the most”, she says.

“Other benefits, just as important as the first, are the proximity of the mother and father to the baby, as this ‘conversation’ creates a much closer bond between the family… Since the parents will be paying attention to their babies and the what they mean”, explains Flavia.

“Some studies also show that children who use sign language from an early age communicate better, have a better vocabulary and, over time, perform better in their studies”, adds the mother.

In summary, the following can be highlighted as advantages of sign language:

• Reduction of the baby’s frustration in trying to communicate;
• Easier for parents to understand what the baby wants and to communicate with him in general;
• Increase in the baby’s self-confidence for being able to express himself;
• Enriching the bond between parents and children;
• Stimulus for the child to learn to speak earlier and have a greater vocabulary;
• Improved intellectual and emotional development.

How to create a sign language to communicate with your baby

But how does sign language work in practice? Flavia explains the main steps below:

• The sign language used is usually LIBRAS (Brazilian Sign Language) or ASL (American Sign Language) in the case of those who live in the United States like Flavia. “A new language is not created, but LIBRAS or ASL is used so that the child can also communicate with hearing-impaired children normally”, she says. There may be a slight variation from one gesture/word to another in the case of each family, region or country, but, in general, practically the same signs are used.
• The purpose of sign language is to lessen the baby’s frustration in communicating, but also to teach children an extra language so they can communicate with others. “This is a very big addition”, observes Flávia.
• To start teaching, parents should follow “baby steps”: start with one sign at a time. “I use the sign of the most used word with babies, which is ‘suckling’. As soon as the baby learns the first sign, you can introduce one more, and so on. In a few months your baby will be making more than 15 signs”, explains Flavia.

“Just think that when we teach a baby to say ‘goodbye’ with his little hand, he is already making a sign. So, we added to this repertoire the speech of the word in question and the parents making the sign together”, highlights Flavia.

It is worth noting that there are books that can help parents teach sign language to their baby, such as the book “Signs: baby language” or “Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers” , between others.

Signs vs. Words: Does sign language interfere with speech learning?

The topic still causes many doubts and controversies. But those who bet on practice say exactly the opposite. After all, the parents will be doing the gestures and talking to the baby at the same time, which can even help more in the child’s speech development.

According to a study by the National Institute of Health, babies who learn sign language develop oral language even faster than babies who don’t practice sign language.

But, it is worth mentioning, the use of sign language should be done calmly, respecting the child’s time. The idea is for parents to say the word at the same time as they make the sign whenever possible, in different circumstances, so the baby will learn from the sound, the sign and the representation of what they said. The process should be as fun as possible, to be a totally pleasant experience for the baby.

Videos: bloggers and mothers share their experiences

In the videos below, mothers teach in a simple way how to successfully use sign language for babies.

1. Sign language for babies

Flavia Calina explains how sign language works, which she taught her daughter. And that are nothing more than symbolic gestures for parents to communicate more easily with the baby!

2. Sign Language for Babies with Victoria

In this video, Flavia Calina answers some frequently asked questions about sign language and shows some of the signs her daughter Victoria knows how to do.

3. Sign language for babies – gestures

In the video, Stella Smaha shows you how to make some basic baby signs.

4. Understanding baby sign language more

In the video, Fernanda shows that, with sign language, parents give autonomy so that the baby can express what he wants.

If you like the idea and want to teach sign language to your baby, start researching more and more on the subject, counting, who knows, with the help of DVD’s and books that cover the subject. Youtube videos are also great allies because they show, in practice, what mothers have taught their children. Good luck!