How to Communicate With Infants Before They Can Speak

- a number of parents these days are learning to sign with their babies.
- infants in the past were taught to sign "bye bye", "flying kiss", "hug" and so on, which are forms of sign language.
- they can learn gestures to help them communicate with their caregivers long before they master their speaking skills.


Benefits of signing

- Eg. "hungry", "hot", "sleep" are common signs an infant can learn to communicate their needs.
- signing enhances the social - emotional development of babies and reduces the frustration of babies.
- this leads to less negative interactions between them and their caregivers.
- babies are able to share what they observe, think or feel.
- more trust is established as babies know their caregivers understand what he is trying to say.
- have greater self-esteem and self-confidence.


Preparation for speech

Signing
- makes learning to talk easier and motivates a baby to communicate.
- whets a child's appetite for better ways to communicate. Eg. a baby learning to crawl before walking which motivates him to want to walk to get around.
- helps to stimulate learning through the different senses.
- children begin speaking much earlier than non-signing peers.
- children at early age have higher IQ later in life.



How to begin

- parents can start as early as when the baby is 3 mth old when they're able to see better and clearer.
- infant may only reciprocate about 9 mth old.
- takes patience to teach your baby to sign.
- aim of signing goes beyond communicating simple needs like "eat", "bye bye" and so on.
- adopting a system would be more helpful and a commonly used system for signing is the American Sign Language.
- start with a sign that baby would be more interested in like food, and later "drink", "diaper" and so on.
- every sign should come together with the spoken word or pointing to the object.
- be consistent and position yourself so that baby can see your signing clearly.


Keep the Goal in mind

- going for baby signing course is helpful.
- baby may take days or even weeks to pick up signing.
- main objective of using sign language is to enhance communication and deepen your bond with the baby.
- avoid getting stressed or uptight with baby when baby is not able to pick up the signs as much as you want.
- make signing a fun experience for both baby and yourself.