Because before they can speak, babies already need and want to communicate with their parents, sign language, or "gestural communication combined with speech" or Baby Sign Language (BSL), provides a gentle, enriching solution for the whole family. The principle? Select the most useful words and sign with baby, systematically associating the gesture with the spoken word, so that he too ends up using them.
CONTENTS :
- Les mains qui (ra) content: why sign with your child?
- Your first steps together in the world of signs
- At what age should I start signing?
- 10 signs for communicating with baby
- Sign language for babies, 3 expert tips for a positive experience
Les mains qui (ra) content: why sign with your child?
Baby's first words appear around 12 months. But it takes another 6 months to 1 year for the first associations to produce mini-phrases. This is a period when misunderstanding can mean frustration. Because you don't understand what your child wants, or don't understand it easily, tantrums follow, and with them a feeling of discouragement.
Signing with baby is a way for him to express his needs and emotions, and to share an additional form of complicity. All the more so as some babies sign at a very early age, for a host of advantages.
- A richer parent-child relationship.
- Natural, simpler exchanges.
- More serenity at home.
- Your baby's pride and joy.
- A small brain stimulated differently.
If your baby isn't (yet?) a globetrotter, don't forget that sign language, while not universal, is borderless! Alongside French sign language (LSF), there's ASL (American Sign Language) and LSB (Langue des Signes Belge).
Your first steps together in the world of signs
Baby Sign Language (BSL) is directly derived from French sign language. In fact, there are many materials available on the Internet, including an online dictionary. At home, the idea is to start early, with light, regular learning.
At what age should I start signing?
As early as 6 months! At this age, baby may not yet be able to reproduce the signs you show him, but he already has the capacity to assimilate them. At mealtimes, when you're putting him to bed, when you're going out for a walk or to the nursery or nanny's, when you're playing... Don't hesitate to associate the sign with the word and to repeat them.
How do I start learning sign language?
Above all, give yourself time and start early. Anticipate the fact that your toddler's learning will be gradual, and that the more you repeat each word and gesture, the faster they will be recognized and used.
Also, don't introduce too many signs at the same time, at the risk of confusing the message. Choose a few that are most useful to both of you at the moment, and introduce them slowly, several days apart.
10 signs for communicating with baby
- Eating: bring the fingertips of one hand together and tap your lips a few times.
- Bottle: form a "C" with your hand, as if you were holding a bottle, and bring it close to your mouth.
- Mom: open the palm of your hand and place it flattened twice under the breast (as if imitating an infant being cradled while feeding).
- Dad: with thumb and forefinger, mime pinching the moustache just above the mouth. The other fingers are closed.
- Again: bring the fingertips of one hand together and tap them twice on the flat of the other hand.
- Sleeping: frame the side of your face with your hand, fingers straight and pressed together along the cheek and thumb under the chin.
- Doudou: close the fingers of the hand towards the palm, except for the index finger, which encompasses the thumb, kept straight. With your hand in this position, double-tap your mouth "dou-dou".
- Change (diaper, game...): close both fists and glue them together palm side, thumb to thumb. Then rotate them back and forth.
- Pain (boo-boo...): with the outstretched finger of one hand, tap the back of the other.
- Thank you: place your fingers on your chin and move your hand forward, towards the person you're thanking.
Discover the Élhée feeding bottle, with its round shape that fits snugly into baby's little hands, perfect for learning to sign.
Can sign language interfere with oral language learning?
Many parents who embark on the LDS experience express the same fear: "What if, because he signs, baby doesn't make the same effort to speak? In fact, sign language seems to be a positive step towards language acquisition.
- In 2000, a study of 103 11-month-old babies concluded that symbolic gestures do not hinder children's verbal development, and may even facilitate it.
- In 2012, Claire D. Vallotton in her study "Infant signs as intervention? (...)" came to the conclusion that signs are effective tools for promoting two-way communication and positive interactions between children and their parents.
The perfect signer's toolbox
There's a wealth of literature on learning to sign with babies. Books, videos and even apps can help.
- A book to read, "Bébé s'exprime par signes" by Christine Nougarolles and Anaïs Galon, published by Mango.
- From the age of 6 months, Langue au Chat Editions offers the first stories and rhymes in sign language.
- The book "Signer avec son bébé : Une communication gestuelle bienveillante" by Sophie d'Olce , published by J'ai lu, is also worth a look.
- Available on iOS and Android, the "Bébé signe" app offers short, concise videos for easy learning.
- The " Lyla Signes " YouTube channel is packed with rhymes, explanations and vocabulary.
And to vary the nature of your training sessions, to find out more and to sign, sign, sign with baby, think of the magnetic picture cards to stick on the fridge or the basic signs poster to fix on the toilet door, for example. Two fun, practical formats the whole family can enjoy.
It's true, baby will learn all the more easily and quickly if everyone around him is practicing sign language. Mom, Dad, his brothers and sisters, Grandma and Grandpa, and his nanny too.
The little extras that make all the difference
- Create your own personal dictionary: note down the signs you use most often and illustrate them with photos.
- Film yourself signing: you'll make faster progress and keep a nice souvenir of baby's first years.
- Join groups of parents (near you or on social networks: Langue des signes bébé on Facebook) who practice sign language with their babies to exchange ideas and practice together.
Sign language for babies, 3 expert tips for a positive experience
Learning sign language with baby is a magical experience, but it also takes a certain amount of consistency and self-confidence to take it on and make it a success.
Experts recommend practicing every day, even a little if you're short of time, otherwise you'll fail to memorize the signs, confuse them and feel frustrated yourself because progress is slow in coming. At the same time, patience and kindness are essential.
So if you're faced with doubts or questions from those around you, if you don't get the support you'd hoped for, or even if you feel uncomfortable signing in public, persevere, thinking of the benefits for your child. You'll be rewarded as soon as baby gives you his or her first deliberate sign.🩷
Dr. Susan Goodwyn, the developmental psychologist behind the Baby Sign platform said, "Patience is crucial. Some babies can take months to sign back, but they absorb everything you show them."
According to communications professor Dr. Marilyn Daniels, you shouldn't hesitate to exaggerate your facial expressions when signing. This helps baby understand the emotional context of the sign.
Finally, Dr. Gwen Dewar, anthropologist and founder of the Parenting Science website, explains: "Carefully observe your baby's attempts at non-verbal communication. They often invent their own gestures before adopting yours."
Les biberons Élhée accompagneront votre bébé de la naissance jusqu'à 24 mois et plus, pour lui permettre une parfaite autonomie, sans risque de casse.
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