The idea of teaching a baby sign language stems from the fact that developmentally a child is ready to make gestures before he is able to communicate verbally. Some parents teach their infant American Sign Language while others use a program of modified signs designed specifically for babies or they even make up their own signs. Parents can begin whenever they like, although most infants won't be able to use signs on their own until about eight months of age.
Eases Communication Frustrations
Infants who learn to sign are less frustrated than babies the same age who are unable to communicate their needs and desires, according to Baby Center. Parents, too, experience less frustration since they can understand exactly what the signing infant wants instead of trying to decipher the needs of a crying or screaming baby who can't signal something specific to her parents. According to Dr. Greene, babies who learn signs are less likely to throw temper tantrums, which are often due to an inability to communicate.
Better Language Development
Babies who learn sign language before they begin speaking use language better once they do start speaking. The use of signs causes the infant to pay closer attention when being taught new words and it encourages two-way conversation. Because parents tend to use words along with the sign and phrase things a few different ways when making a sentence, they expose the baby to different ways of using words. For example, a parent may sign the word for "dog" while also speaking the sentences "Look at the dog," "Yes, that is a brown dog" and "The dog is eating his food." This gives the baby exposure to a different grammar patterns and reinforces both the word and sign for dog.
Dr. Marilyn Daniels, who is a professor of speech communication at Pennsylvania State University, explains that babies who learn sign language develop better recognition of sounds and letters, larger vocabularies and improved literacy when compared with their peers who did not learn baby sign language.
Encourage Family Bonding
A mother who understands what her child is trying to communicate can interact better with that child, facilitating the bonding process. Baby sign language can also improve the bonding between siblings and the young baby as well as make the baby more interactive with grandparents and other family members. Babies who feel like they are understood and accepted have a secure foundation of trust to build upon as they grow older.
Brain Development
Dr. Marilyn Daniels maintains that learning sign language as a baby can actually boost brain development in infants. These babies develop similar brain structure changes to bilingual children. They also have improved eye development and better use of both hemispheres of the brain when using language instead of limiting most language learning to only one hemisphere.
