Baby Signs® by Bryn

As more and more parents learn the value of exposing their children to second and even third languages early in life, the number of babies being raised in “bilingual homes” is rapidly increasing. Just what does this mean? In many cases it means that one parent speaks one language to the child while the other parent speaks a second. In other cases, both parents may speak the same language to the child while a trusted caregiver (grandmother or nanny) speaks another.



So, what happens if we add signing to the mix? Will it just add to the child’s confusion?

The answer is a strong and resounding “No!” The truth is that, no matter what form bilingual input takes, adding signing to the mix actually makes the child’s job easier, not harder. Here’s why.


When children first start learning about language, they quite naturally look for one-to-one correspondences between words and the objects (or actions) they label. For example, babies in an English-only environment, upon hearing the word “milk” in the presence of white stuff in their bottle, will eventually learn to associate the two together:


CHILD: “Hmmm....I get it! The white stuff in my bottle = ‘milk’“

However, life gets more complicated in a bilingual household. In this case babies consistently hear two words in association with the white stuff in their bottle, a situation which can be very confusing.


CHILD: “Hmmm….Sometimes I hear “milk,” sometimes “leche.” What’s going on?”


Clearly, what children hearing two languages need to figure out is that both words are equally important labels for milk. And that’s where signing comes to the rescue. By adding a sign to the mix so that the same visual symbol (sign) accompanies both words (“milk” and “leche”), parents make the job of connecting the object with the meanings of both words much easier for babies. In other words, when the baby hears “leche” paired with sign and then also hears “milk” paired with the sign, the pieces fall into place:


CHILD: “Aha! These words mean the same thing!
 

In summary, rather than confusing your bilingual child, signs will help smooth the road to understanding and speaking both languages.



Of course, signing has another advantage in bilingual settings, especially in child care classrooms where teachers and families speak different languages: The signs provide a common language so that toddlers who are learning the family language can still make themselves understood. Just such a situation exists at the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of California, Davis, where graduate students from all over the world routinely enroll their infants and toddlers. In the 18 years since the Baby Signs® Program was first introduced, teachers and parents alike have been amazed at how much more smoothly daily life in the classroom proceeds, with data specifically showing that the teachers are more responsive to the needs of the children. In addition, the signs have enabled children who speak different languages to communicate with each other. In one case, for example, a toddler from Israel and a toddler from Taiwan were observed reading a picture book together—with the first girl turning the pages and pointing at objects while the second girl made the appropriate signs!


Bottom line? Signing is clearly a boon to children facing the challenge of hearing multiple languages, whether at home or in the classroom.
 
Visit babysigns.com for more information about Baby Signs® resources to help you and your baby enjoy all the benefits that signing can bring.



Written by: Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. & Susan Goodwyn, Ph,.D.,


Co-Founders, Baby Signs, Inc.

Leia Mais…

Being a first time parent you have many questions, worries, concerns, and a sense of excitement about this new adventure you’ve just embarked on. You get home from the hospital and think “What now? What do I do with this little infant?” During those early months, I would find myself staring at my newborn while holding her. I would often wonder what she was thinking about. Eventually your baby starts to make cooing sounds and babbling. You get so excited; you might even find yourself babbling back or setting up the video camera to catch every sound and movement for hours (or maybe that was just me).

It’s fun and cute for a while but slowly that begins to change. You can tell that your child’s babbling words mean something to her but you don’t know what. Soon you find your child is getting frustrated at being unable to communicate their wants, needs, and feelings and they often resort to tantrums or tears. You begin asking “what’s wrong?” You go through your mini checklist of possible problems. Peek in the diaper; nope doesn’t need changed. “Are you hungry? Tired? Sick?” You eventually pick one and try that one…Perhaps she’s tired, let’s put her down for a nap…Sometimes you’ve guessed right and other times you don’t. You find yourself getting frustrated and wishing you could know what they want and looking forward to the day when they can finally tell you.

Unfortunately, that day takes quite some time. Most babies can comprehend words at a very early age but are unable to produce them until about 12 months. Even then, it’s very limited to just a few simple words and sometimes they aren’t very clear. The good news is that parents and babies CAN communicate together by using simple signs. Just as crawling bridges the gap between immobility and walking, baby sign language often bridges the gap between word comprehension and word production. For example, my son would say “bah, bah” and it stood for many things. Sometimes it meant ball, bottle, banana, book, etc. Because he knew baby sign language, I was able to understand what it was he was talking about. The tears and frustration was avoided and I didn’t have to bring out my “mini checklist” of possible causes for the outburst.

The Baby Signs® Program has been a huge help for me in raising my babies and toddlers. There’s a lot of excellent research on the benefits of using baby sign language but my favorite benefit is that it strengthens the parent/infant bond. Communication is key in any relationship and if you are able to foster it at such a young age your bond is that much stronger. I love being invited into my baby’s world as they “tell” me what they see, hear, or feel through simple gestures or signs. I am able to share in their delight as they discover new things. I can see the confidence in their eyes when they realize that “mommy understands” me.

Leia Mais…