Chelltune: The Baby Signing Store

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Frequently asked questions

What is baby signing?
Baby signing is pre-verbal communication with your child: using visual clues (signs) before they can talk. Babies are capable of understanding and communicating from six months old but their ability to speak doesn´t develop till much later when they are twelve to eighteen months old. By using signs with your baby you can start to communicate with them much earlier.

Will baby signing discourage my child from learning to talk?
Extensive research has shown that teaching babies to sign before they can talk actually enhances language. Signing babies start to talk earlier than non-signing babies.

Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn have conducted research over twenty years. One hundred and forty families were involved in the study when their babies were eleven months old. The children were split into two groups, signing babies and non signing-babies.

The children were assessed using standardized language measures at 11, 15, 19, 24, 30, and 36 months. In addition, as many children as could be relocated at age 8 were assessed using the WISC-III IQ test, the most commonly used measure of children´s intelligence.

At 24 months signing-babies were on average talking more like 27 or 28 month olds. This represents more than a three-month advantage over the non-signing babies. In addition, the 24-month-old signing-babies were putting together significantly longer sentences.

At 36 months the signing-babies on average were talking like 47 month olds, putting them almost a full year ahead of their average age-mates.

Eight year olds who had been signing-babies scored an average of 12 points higher in IQ than their non-signing peers.

When should I start signing with my baby?
You can start to sign whenever you like, some parents start when their baby is born, others wait till they are 6 or 7 months old. The sooner you start the better, as this will help you get into the habit of signing regularly although this does mean you have longer to wait till they actually sign back!

Your baby will begin to show understanding of baby signing, and make their first attempts, from around 6 to 9 months. Once your baby starts to clap or wave bye-bye then it´s a good indication that they are ready. Babies need to develop memory and coordination to recognise and remember the signs.

When will my baby actually start to sign to me?
It´s important to remember that all babies are different. The answer varies from one baby to another just like there is no set age when they will be ready to be weaned or to use the potty.

The most typical age range is from ten to fourteen months however some babies will sign from as young as six months old. This will also depend on how frequently the baby´s parents/carers use the signs too. The more consistent you are with using the signs the better. Older babies will tend to be able to pick it up faster.

It can take a while for a baby to become confident enough to sign but as long as you keep reinforcing the signs during your daily routine your baby will start to sign.

Is it too late to start to sign if my child can talk?
Even once a baby can talk there may be words that they find hard to say so signing can be useful. Once your baby can tell you want they want with words the signs will naturally fall away. Signs are often still used when the children are tired or if they want to emphasise their message.

Signing when reading books or singing rhymes and songs is great fun so you may want to continue to use sign language.

Many of the baby signing programmes use British Sign Language (BSL) or are based on it. With over 70,000 Deaf people in the UK whose first language is BSL it is highly likely that one day you and your child will be able to make use of your signing skills albeit at a basic level.

What baby signs should I start with?

The choice is yours but you should make them relevant to your baby´s world. If you are new to signing yourself then you may find it easier to start with just one or two words then progress gradually to increase your vocabulary.

Often the signs for milk, eat/food and more are used first. If your baby has a favourite toy rabbit then rabbit may be a good sign to learn or if they are particularly fond of a pet cat then that may be your next sign.

You should always use the spoken word as well as the sign.

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