Have you ever wondered why parents are so pleased when their baby
learns to wave bye-bye? This is one of the first natural forms of
communication between you and your baby. This may be your baby's
first sign.
It is a fact that infants develop the fine muscles in their hands
before they develop those required for speech, so they're equipped
to communicate with you before they can speak.
Most babies will invent their own "signs" to get their meaning
across. A baby may learn to wave bye-bye, for example, or point to
his or her nose when it needs a wipe.
Signing allows you to share your baby's world without waiting for
her to speak. You are likely to be surprised by what your baby sees,
hears and feel.
Research has shown that, those babies who are taught to use signs
to communicate before they can speak actually begin speaking sooner.
In addition, these babies are likely to have a larger vocabulary
once they begin to speak.
You can begin signing with your baby at any time and your baby is
likely to show a great deal of interest in your hand movements from
a very young age. However, keep in mind that, on average, the motor
skills necessary for babies to sign back to you mature at around 10
months of age.
Identify a few words that represent objects or actions that your
baby is most interested in and begin with the signs for these words
first. Your baby is more likely to be interested in signing with you
if you focus on words that are of interest to her. Perhaps your baby
has a favorite teddy bear (teach the sign for bear) or enjoys a
story about a cat (teach the sign for cat) or loves to play with
your shoes (teach the sign for shoes.)
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