Wondering what is Baby Sign Language all about? Toddler Interpreter dispell some of the myths and show you how easy it is to sign with your baby or toddler…

Most parents have heard of this recent parenting craze but not a lot of parents actually know what baby sign language involves. Many would naturally assume that you teach adult sign language to your baby, but this is not entirely correct. Let me explain why baby sign language is very different to adult sign language.

Baby sign language is different to sign language as it doesn’t follow the same structure. Baby Signing is based on the concept of keyword signing. Keyword signing is used in conjunction with speech and is usually used with hearing children and adults. Generally, keyword signing will be used for communication when one person can speak and the other one can’t. Keyword signs are used to compliment the spoken conversation and are used by the non-verbal child or adult to communicate back and respond. Some of the gestures used are often borrowed from sign language or may be modified to be more easily understood or performed.

Babies can understand most of what you are saying from the age of 6 months but they are unable to speak back to you until a year or even two later. They try their hardest to communicate through their body language but keyword signing provides a more effective means of communication to help them get their point across. They can easily communicate through the use of baby signing well before their vocal chords are developed enough for speech. Through this communication method, they suffer less frustration because they are able to let you know what they think and want without the usual guessing games.

A baby that is less than 12 months old will have the ability to copy hand signals. If your baby is already waving hello or goodbye, they are certainly able to add more gestures to their vocabulary. Being understood is very empowering for the child and they recognize early how rewarding it is to have communication skills.

They are able to produce these hand signals at an age far younger than they are able to talk. Most babies are ready to use these baby signs by the age of 6-9 months whereas some babies may not speak until 12 months. For others who follow a slightly delayed speech development, they may not be able to communicate with words until they are over 2 years old. In this case, Baby Signs can be an invaluable tool, allowing them to express themselves almost a year before they would have naturally been afforded that opportunity.

Parent’s who take the time to nurture their child’s development by teaching Baby Sign Language are also more likely to spend quality time with their baby. They are more likely to seek out ways to improve their child’s development which flows on to have many positive benefits other than just the accelerated speech development. If you have more questions regarding “What is Baby Sign Language” or how to teach your baby to sign, head over to Toddler Interpreter for affordable resources or download your free baby signs chart and start today.

Toddler Interpreter teach Baby Signs and they offer the best Free Baby Sign Language Chart  available online and their Baby Sign Language Book is used by parents and childcare centres in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to Teach Baby Sign Language. Sign Language for Babies is easy using Toddler Interpreter’s comprehensive Baby Sign Language Dictionary. Sign Language for Toddlers can help reduce frustration and Baby Sign Language has proved very beneficial for Premature Babies, children with Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome and other babies at risk of developing a speech delay.

We were asked today What is Baby Sign Language?

Baby Sign Language comprises of some simple gestures that are taught to the baby to help them express their needs and wants before they can talk. Sounds easy right – well it is.

These gestures are introduced as early as 4 months so that the baby can understand you. After a while they become competent at copying the signs back to you and finally they use them independantly to tell you what they want. It doesn’t take much time or effort and it is easy to pick up. Because you only start with the basics you are virtually learning at their pace so it quickly becomes a natural gesture that you do everytime you say that particular keyword. Just having a 4 month old baby understand you is worth the effort; they certainly wouldn’t have this level of comprehension if they were just relying on listening to your words. 

Baby’s aren’t able to produce properly formed words until they are up to 30 months of age depending on their individual development. Until such time as they can talk and be understood, they rely on us to interpret what they need and want. You can be sure that from as early as 6 months they certainly do know what they want, they just can’t tell you. Offering them some simple gestures they can use instead will go a long way to reducing the frustrations they may feel at not being understood. So this is where Baby Sign Language comes in. It doesn’t replace the need for words, it simply offers some gestures to compliment the use of words to increase understanding between baby and adult.

Baby’s have their own way of communicating. When you get to know your new little one, you will begin to learn that they habe a special way of communicating with you. You will learn to understand them by interpreting a particular cry or their body language.

By the time the baby reaches 3-6 months of age the cries change somewhat in sound and as they become more aware of how to manipulate their parents. If you can provide them with a more rewarding and easier way to communicate such as Baby Sign Language you may find that the mutual understanding grows and the communication struggle ends.

By providing the baby with an easy form of communication such as Baby Sign Language it reduces stress of the parent and child. Once the baby’s needs are met through Baby Sign Language the baby feels confort in knowing that they are able to communicate and be heard. All of a sudden the baby feels less frustration. Baby Sign Language also provides Mom with some confidence that she can provide what the baby is asking for. Baby Sign Language means less guessing games which is great if you have hopes of getting out of the house on time with your little on at least once every little while.

With the help of Toddler Interpreter you can earn some simple gestures that will save you alot of tantrums along the way.

Toddler Interpreter teach Baby Signs and they offer the best Free Baby Sign Language chart available online and their Baby Sign Language Book is used by parents and childcare centres in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to Teach Baby Sign Language. Sign Language for Babies can be taught using Toddler Interpreter’s comprehensive Baby Sign Language Dictionary. Sign Language for Toddlers can help reduce frustration and Baby Sign Language has proved very beneficial for Premature Babies and other babies at risk of developing a speech delay.