"Babies crawl before they walk
and sign before they talk."
-Rachel Coleman, Co-creator of Signing Time
Look. Parenting is difficult. We all know that - or learn it very quickly early on. There's always a long list of To-Do's and never enough seconds in the day.
Signing takes the guesswork out of your child's cries and fits. They CAN'T tell you what they want. So they scream. Their voice box's are not physically developed enough to speak properly until at least 2 or 3 years old.
With sign language, children can "speak" to you at about 6 months old! They no longer have to cry. You no longer need to pull your hair out and cry yourself to sleep because you cannot understand what is wrong with your crying baby. They can tell you themselves. Its up to us to teach them how.
* VERY INTERESTING* A study in the US found that kids raised in bilingual homes increases the number of synapses between the two hemispheres of the brain. That means better memory and increased lateral thinking processes for those bilingual children. It doesn't matter which language a child learns, research has proved that learning another language, which includes Sign Language, improves a child's cognitive development. Research also suggests learning a second language helps with mathematical skills as well as reading, speaking and writing in your first language. How amazing is that!
So clearly, using Sign Language with your family, no matter what age they are is worth it!
Check out Signing Time DVD's and get started TODAY!
FAQ's
- My child can hear. Why should they learn to sign?
- I have heard that signing can help with tantrums and the "Terrible Two's". How is that?
- My child is already talking. Why should they learn to sign?
- Myth: Learning signs will delay their speech.
- Why do use real sign language instead of "baby signs"?
- How early can I start to sign with my child?
- Are my kids too old for sign language and Signing Time?
- What research exists about the benefits of using signs with children?
- How soon will my child start to sign back to me?
- My child is not doing the signs correctly. Is that okay?
My child can hear. Why should I teach them to sign?
Let me repeat, because it is most incredible: A study in the US found that kids raised in bilingual homes increases the number of synapses between the two hemispheres of the brain. That means better memory and increased lateral thinking processes for those bilingual children. It doesn't matter which language a child learns, research has proved that learning another language, which includes Sign Language, improves a child's cognitive development. Research also suggests learning a second language helps with mathematical skills as well as reading, speaking and writing in your first language. How amazing is that!
Still need more info?
Most children are not developmentally ready to speak until approximately 2 years of age. Babies are developmentally able to communicate with signs much earlier than that. Some studies indicate children as young as 5 to 6 months of age can communicate with limited signs. The inability to communicate can cause frustration and tantrums for both the parent and the child! Sign language is a wonderful tool that allows even very small children to express themselves. Most parents that sign with their babies talk about an unexplainable bond that is felt when their child communicates so early!
Sign language isn't just for babies, or toddlers, or even small children. Signing with children as old as 10 is beneficial. In fact, it has fantastic benefits for people of all ages. Read on to see how.
Obviously your child will be fine without learning sign language, but there are so many developmental and social benefits that they will have access to should you choose to do so. Most parents want to
give their child every advantage in life possible, and signing is one fantastic, fun and easy way to do that.
I have heard that Signing can help with tantrums and the Terrible Two’s. How is that?Many tantrums and the "Terrible Twos" are directly linked to
frustration about communication. There is less frustration when your child can augment their communication skills with signs that both of you can understand. In fact, research has shown that teaching signs to your child can have dramatic effects:
- Encourages children to explore and reveal their feelings
- Decreased frustration
- Increased communication
- Encourages trust
- Increases language abilities
- Assists in learning to talk
- Strengthens the bond between you and your child
- Improves self-confidence and self-esteem
- Signing children are better adjusted
My child is already talking. Why should they learn to sign?
Learning a second language (YES, Sign Language is a second language!) is fun and has many developmental benefits. Signing stimulates learning through different senses. Sign language is a blessing for children that are "visual", "spatial" or "tactile learners" as so many are. Learning a second language raises your child's IQ, one of the many benefits.
Another good reason is because many members of the community have at least some degree of hearing loss. Knowing a few signs can give your child the confidence to engage and interact with a deaf child rather than both children feeling awkward and helpless.
"My hope is that everyone will know a little sign, just as most people know a little Spanish - so when your child sees my child at the park, there would be no awkwardness, no communication barrier, just three signs... "Hi ... friend ... play'... that is all it would take to change her world."
- Rachel Coleman, co-creator of Signing Time
Myth: Learning signs will delay their speech.
Many parents fear that signing will delay or further delay speech. Our experience has been the extreme opposite. If your goal is communication, then signing will meet that communication need much earlier than speech. Rachel Coleman, co-creator of Signing Time said, "When we found out Leah was deaf, many people warned us to be careful with signing. They said, 'If she gets too comfortable signing, she will never speak.' Their intentions were good, but they were absolutely wrong. Luckily, we first gave Leah a complete language in signs, only then was she able to take time to work on the skill of labelling those signs through her speech. English is a language. American Sign Language is a language. Spanish is a language. But speech, it is a skill...and Leah is a little chatterbox!"
My own experience has been different with each of my three children. Cadyn learned to sign and speak about the same time, around 8-9 months although his speech was modified, "Da-da" for Daddy, "ba-ba" for bottle, "do" for juice, etc. which is exactly why signing was such an important part of his communication. How can you get "Juice" from "do"?! But when he twists his hand with his little finger pointed while saying "do", I knew exactly what he wanted. Lanaya was different. She made a transition from signing words at about 11 months, then signing sentences, to speaking in sentences by about the age of 15 months. She was not too interested in signing after the first 4 or 5 months. She wanted to speak right away (and hasn't stopped since). With Gracie, who started signing around 7-8 months, I noticed one day she could string together, spoken words out loud, a 5-word sentence at 11 months old. I could not believe it! It floored me. She has gotten all the family even more excited about signing, and we all use it a lot more now.
Why do you use real Sign Language instead of made up “baby signs”?I have found that there are many "Baby Sign Language" companies out there that promote temporary and short-term use of "baby signs", just until they are old enough to speak. Some companies recommend using signs with the age group 6-30 months old. They don't promote signing with children older than 3. Signing Time is different. I believe that signing is beneficial to everyone regardless of age.
Some groups teach the use of signs that are different for each and every baby. The fact is, I have found many wonderful benefits and joy in using Sign Language with all of my family members, from my littlest tyke to my eldest son of 8, and even Daddy enjoys signing to me from across a crowed room.
The fact is, I find it handy to be able to sign "Gracie and I are going to use the loo, wait for us" from across the playground rather than yell it out loud or travel back across the field just to tell him.
I have also found much joy in being able to communicate a short "Thank you" to a girl I met recently who was hearing impaired. Her big smile told me I am doing the right thing.
The main reason I am using ASL is this: The Signing Time DVD's. They are the best teaching resource I have found for teaching signs to children and adults, people of ALL ages. If you are going to make the effort to teach and reinforce signs for communication purposes, it makes sense to use signs that are part of a living language that have meaning to the hundreds of thousands of sign language users, and not made up "baby signs". It means that there is no transition, and they are comfortable and familiar with the language from day one.
It eliminates the need to learn or re-learn in a whole new style later on. Hearing children that start out as "baby signers" can comfortably transition into communication with deaf children and adults, and take advantage of other ASL exposure (videos, ASL playgroups, viewing interpretations on TV or at school, church, etc...). They have also laid a foundation for the study of ASL as a second language later in their academic careers. All of this is possible by simply using real signs instead of made up or adapted signs.
Additionally, your child's caregivers (Doctors, preschools, daycare centers, and elementary schools) are far more likely to use either ASL or AUSLAN so knowing them goes much further than in your home. Imagine each child care provider trying to learn various individual "made up" signs for each child for whom they care. Because of the inclusion of "universal signs" used in both ASL and in AUSLAN means that more often than not the signs are exactly the same, or very similar. The fact is, signs can vary slightly from region to region, so today, this "universal sign language" is uses common signs as a basis for most sign languages. If you come across a person with a different variation of a signed word (which happens commonly), it is customary and easy for signers to work out the meaning together.
How early can I start to sign with my child?Start signing now!
This question is similar to "How early should I start reading to my child?"
The answer is the same: ASAP.
You can sign "milk" to your newborn when it's time to nurse or time for a bottle. Sign "sleep" at nap and bedtimes. Take your baby's hands and help them sign "more" in-between each spoonful. This will help integrate signs into your daily routine. Soon the repetition and reinforcement will occur naturally as your infant grows. Signing will also help your infant realise that crying is not the only way of communicating. I have seen children as young as 4 months signing. These parents started teaching Sign Language early, as early as birth. The earlier they start, the more advanced they become.
If your child is already talking, "milk", "eat" and "more" is a good place to start. Of course my favourite signs for speaking children are "love", "scared", "happy", "sleep" among other "feeling" signs.
It helps them recognise, personalise and clearly communicate how they feel.
It is an important part of building confidence in our children.
Are my kids too old for Signing Time?While our products were created for children ages 0-8, ALL ages love Signing Time, including my 30-year old self.
Why? It makes signing so easy and fun.
We have heard from customers of all ages who have found remarkable uses for our products, including stroke patients who have lost their speech,
parents of children adopted from other countries who don't speak the same language, foreigners who have temporarily moved to Australia for work and need to learn English in a hurry, children with speech delays or no speech at all due to disabilities... the list goes on.
Sign language is a valuable tool at any age. Older children will quickly learn all of the signs AND they will pick up the additional signs that we show in the songs. Many older children love the idea of sign language as their "secret language." It is a real language used by millions of people, including Leah, and the benefits of learning a second language are far-reaching.
In fact, the reason why we have so many Signing Time dvd's in our collection was for teaching skills and values beyond signs.
I bought "Once Upon a Time" to encourage my 8 year old to like reading. It helped a lot.
I bought "Helping out around the house" to encourage them all to be happy about doing chores. I think I turned Gracie into a clean freak by accident. We just laugh and enjoy it.
When I noticed my 6 year old getting angry and frustrated, "Family, Feelings and Fun" helped her recognise what she was feeling, and helped her express her feelings in a healthy way. In fact, this dvd is my favourite for that reason.
There is "Welcome to school" for children who are apprehensive about going to school, "Let's Be Friends" for those who are having trouble with sharing and getting along, "Here I Go" for the train/truck/plane enthusiast, and
"My Favourite Sport" for the family that loves sport.
There is something available for you.
Click here to see more.
What research exists about the benefit of using signs with children?
Research has been conducted on this topic for decades and still continues. A simple web search will produce many results. Download our summary of the major research efforts and findings
here.
How soon will my child start to sign back to me?
There are a few factors to consider: how early you start, how frequently or consistently you use signs, as well as the child's ability or developmental stage.
If you start signing with your newborn, they may not reciprocate until 5-12 months old (although I have heard of a 4 month old making simple signs!).
If you start with your 2 year old, they may respond immediately, or it could take a couple of months.
If your child has physical, mental or developmental delays, take that into consideration.
Rachel Coleman's second daughter Lucy, who was born eight weeks premature with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, had no words and no signs and showed no interest in communication for her first two years. Her doctors did not expect that to change,
ever! Rachel and her husband didn't give up - they continued exposing her to sign and speech, and suddenly she had a language explosion in speech AND sign!
(To read all about it, click here.)
My child is not doing the signs correctly. Is that okay?Most children adapt signs to whatever they are physically able to do. As their fine motor skills develop further, their signs will also develop. This is very similar to the pattern in speech development; "Da-da" suddenly becomes "Daddy" or "Dad" it is perfectly fine for them to adapt a sign to their age level. The most important thing is that you sign together with your child so that you can recognise and understand what they are communicating to you. Signing together will strengthen their communication abilities (communication requires at least two people), as well as strengthening the bond between you and your child.
