Children Baby Singing: Facts & Fun Ideas facts and ideas

• Babies learn signs by repetition – for example - every time a parent gives the child a hug they say ‘hug’ and make the relevant sign.
• A baby's understanding of language and gross motor skills develop much faster than his ability to speak. Therefore he or she can use gestures to communicate a long time before he or she begins to speak.
• Child Development expert Dr Joseph Garcia realised that hearing babies of deaf parents easily copied their parents' signs and used them to communicate and so inspired the idea of actually teaching babies signs. 

Things to think about when deciding which Baby Signing class to join.

• Can you go along to a class before you join just to get a taste of what Baby Signing involves? This would also give you the opportunity to see what the atmosphere of the class is like.
• How big are the class groups? Usually the numbers of mums and babies are kept quite low which helps to keep the class fun for everyone big or small.
• How much are the classes? Do you need to pay up front for the whole term? Can you pay as you go?
• Is there any information you can take home after the classes to help you and your baby practise? Some classes offer a DVD to accompany their program to help you sign at home. Is there an additional cost for this or is it included in the price of the course?

Qualifications of teachers

There is no official minimum qualification to teach Baby Signing but we would recommend asking to see copies of any relevant qualifications. A speech and language qualification would be an advantage.

Supporters of Baby Signing believe it has many benefits to both child and parent. For the child these include:

• Developing a wider vocabulary and improved comprehension.
• More advanced mental development.
• A reduction in problematic behavior like tantrums, biting and hitting resulting from frustration because the child can’t verbalize their needs.
• Promotes literacy.
• Encourages the development of speech.
• Stimulates a baby's intellectual and emotional development.

Advantages for the parent are thought to include:

• An improved parent–child relationship.
• Helping to understand your baby's needs, thoughts and ideas.
• Allowing parents to become more responsive and observant of their baby.

Former American fashion model and Phat Fashions CEO Kimora Lee Simmons (born May 4, 1975) used baby signing with her son Kenzo.” I think it’s so important [because] a baby can say what he wants… ‘food’, ‘no’, ‘yes’, ‘thank you’, ‘please’ – it helps with communication so you don’t have like screaming crazy kids.”
 

Baby Signing
 

This study was designed to determine the benefits of Baby Sign Language and to determine if Baby Sign language would delay speech development in children by the National Institute of Health in 1989. The results showed that by the age of twenty-four months, the signing children had a developmental advantage of three months over the non-signing children. This increased to an equivalent twelve month advantage in their overall language skills and comprehension by the age of thirty-six months.