Sign language has become a more and more popular tool for parents and caregivers to use with babies. By teaching our little ones sign language, we give them the opportunity to communicate their wants and needs to us before they are able to speak. Here are some pro tips to ensure you are setting yourself and your baby up for success with sign language.
Do model the sign while fulfilling your baby’s need
Telling the baby, “Sign ‘more’, and then I can give you more blueberries! I can’t give you any until you do the sign.” is not as effective as you might think. By withholding what they need or want is only going to create negative associations with signing as they get frustrated and feel pressured to perform. So, the best way to teach your little one to sign is by modeling the sign you want them to learn as you’re meeting their needs. You can put emphasis on the word you’re signing to help them associate the sign with the action: “I’m giving you more blueberries!”
Don’t only speak words that you know the signs for
When hearing parents are using signs to communicate with our hearing babies, we have to understand that signs should be supplementary to their language development. Reading, talking, and singing are all things that we do in our everyday routines to encourage language development and signing can be incorporated into them. If you don’t know the sign for a word, you should still speak to your child to encourage well-rounded language skills.
Do use the correct signs for new words you want to use
By using “baby sign language,” we are actually using an established language that is used by the Deaf community. So, it’s important that we use real signs rather than making them up for our babies. If your child’s sign is modified because their motor skills aren’t refined enough to do the correct sign yet, that’s okay. Just continue to model the correct sign and they will learn to adjust it. Being mindful of the fact that sign language is a real language that belongs to a real culture and a real group of people is the least we, hearing caregivers, can do when borrowing it for our own benefit.