Baby language

I know I've mentioned things like "Drew signed 'eat'" or "Drew said he wanted more" a few times in this blog without really explaining what that means.

Jason and I have been teaching Drew a little bit of baby sign language. Nothing monumental. Just a few little words to help ward off toddler temper tantrums.

Research has shown that long before a child's mouth is capable of producing the sounds of speech, they are, in fact, able to communicate. We already know this- they cry when they want something, they hold up their arms to be picked up, they point to something they want, they smile when they're happy, they even wave "bye bye" and blow kisses. The ability to talk is actually quite a complicated skill involving complex movements of the mouth and tongue. We know it takes years for children to learn to fully produce the sounds of their native language (have you heard a 5 year old who still can't say Rs properly? That's normal!). But moving arms and hands, even copying somewhat complex motions, is a skill that babies are able to do, thus allowing them a form of communication.

This is where the "baby sign language" movement developed- teach babies that are capable of communicating to "talk" before they can actually talk.

But that's not what Jason and I are interested in. We really just want to help Drew communicate some of the things he wants or needs. One of the reasons that toddlers throw tantrums is because it can be very difficult to communicate what they want. Can you imagine being thirsty and not being able to get a drink yourself or ask anyone for one?

One of the questions you might have (because I wondered this, too) is, "but won't that delay speech? If a baby can sign what he wants, why would he ever learn to say the word?".

Again, turning to research, I found that many studies have shown that babies who first learned to sign were actually more verbal and had a larger vocabulary than children who did not sign. Scientists believe a large reason for this is because parents have the tendency to say the words as they are signing them, thus "labeling" more every day objects and exposing their children to more language.

In our own experience I have found this to be very true. Even without doing it consciously, Jason and I often say the word we are signing. It just comes naturally. And when Drew signs a word we inevitably say the word that he is signing as well. And sure enough, Drew has been picking up on those words. He now often says "eee!" when he signs "eat".

So what words does Drew know? He can sign "eat" and "more" very well. He intermittently signs "juice" (though uses the sign for any liquid, so it kind of just means "drink") and "all done". We're currently trying to teach "sleep" as well. I'd like to teach him a few fun words, like "cat" and "dog", but we are trying to keep it simple right now.

The process has been very interesting. First off, he picked up on the signs in less than 2 days! We did not use any videos, or go to any classes, we simply started using signs around the house. We started with just "eat" and "drink". Every time we said the word "eat" we would sign it. When we put Drew in his high chair we would say, "are you ready to eat?" while doing the sign. Then, as we put food on his tray, we would say "eat your chicken!" and do the sign. I was absolutely shocked when I swore he was signing "eat" while changing his diaper only a day or two after we started using the signs. I told Jason about it and he didn't believe Drew had picked it up that quickly, until he saw it himself! Any time he used a sign, we were sure to give him what he requested as soon as possible so he connected using the sign with getting something he wanted. Once he gets the hang of a sign we don't necessarily rush to give him what he wants anymore (he does have to learn that he can't demand and get every single thing he wants- like more more MORE cheerios).

Also, the signs usually start out a little "off". For example, "eat" involves tapping all of your fingertips on your mouth. Drew first signed "eat" by tapping his palm on his mouth, like he was yawning. It only took a few more tries, though, before he signed it "perfectly". It's kind of like babbling- babies don't say the words correctly the first time, they have to try it out a few times until they get it right.

And Drew has kind of developed his own meanings for words. As mentioned above, he signs "juice" to mean "drink". We started out with a sign for drink that he never picked up on. Then I started trying to do signs for the individual drinks- water, milk, and juice. Though he rarely drinks juice, he picked up that sign quickly and will do it when he drops his cup- even if it's full of milk or water. Also "more" has been an interesting one. Jason and I have tried to interpret what Drew has come to use it as- sometimes we think he uses it simply as "eat", other times he seems to use it to say "I want what you have".

Here is a video of him signing "more" and me not quite understanding what it is he wants...

I think he just wanted something else to eat (you can hear him kind of make his "eat" sound).

It definitely takes consistency to get him to use the signs. If we stop doing them, he does, too.

Basically, our intent is not to create a "genius child" who can communicate in full sentences by 18 months, but really just to take away some of the guessing game as to what Drew wants or needs. In fact, that's really where it started- he seemed to do certain motions repeatedly or desperately babble, and I started saying to him, "I don't know what you want!" and thought "wouldn't it be nice if we came up with a mutual way of communicating?"

Besides the signs, Drew is talking a good bit these days, too. He says hi, meow, arf arf, kitty, Lucy, uh oh, Daddy, yum, that, and eat. Of course, these words would probably only be recognizable to Jason and I, but they're definitely there. And he still has yet to say Mommy, but we're working on it.

If you're interested in baby sign language there is a ton of information on the web. You can do videos, or a class, but I don't see a need, especially if you just want to keep it basic. We used the internet to find some signs that we wanted to use- most baby sign language sites use American Sign Language. To me this made sense because it's something that he may actually be able to use one day in the future.I have, however, found ourselves making up a few signs here and there (I made up our sign for "juice" on the spot). This seems to be a great site with lots of information as well as little videos showing you how to do the signs.

Happy communicating!