{"id":631,"date":"2015-09-10T18:28:47","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T18:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=631"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:36","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:36","slug":"how-to-teach-your-baby-sign-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2015\/09\/how-to-teach-your-baby-sign-language\/","title":{"rendered":"This I know: how to teach your baby sign language"},"content":{"rendered":"

Babies usually begin saying their first words between the ages of one and two, but they can start communicating even earlier if they learn sign language, says Laura Berg, founder of My Smart Hands Inc., a company that teaches parents how to sign with their babies.<\/p>\n

After graduating from U of G with a sociology degree in 1999, Berg went to teacher\u2019s college where she learned sign language. \u201cI fell in love with it,\u201d she says. \u201cWe did a literacy program at our school, and when I was researching different techniques to use in literacy programs, I kept coming across the idea of signing with babies, which made total sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Babies develop gross motor skills earlier than fine motor skills, allowing them to make hand gestures before they can speak, she explains.<\/p>\n

When her daughter, Fireese, was born, Berg decided to stay home with her but wanted to continue earning an income. Combining her teaching and sign language background, she began offering baby sign language lessons in her living room.<\/p>\n

To help promote her business, she made a YouTube video showing her signing with her then one-year-old daughter. Viewers often asked Berg if they could take lessons with her or become an instructor, so she developed a curriculum for her program. She now has more than 200 instructors across North America, some of whom are also stay-at-home moms, and her YouTube channel<\/a> has more than 30 million views.<\/p>\n

Sign language takes the guesswork out of trying to figure out what your baby wants. \u201cThe number one benefit is that it really helps to reduce frustration for both the baby and the parent,\u201d says Berg. \u201cWith them being able to tell you what they want, it makes your life a lot easier.\u201d She says babies who know how to sign have fewer temper tantrums because they can express themselves in a way their parents can understand.<\/p>\n

As an example, Berg tells the story of her daughter, who was already signing at 10 months. When Berg gave her some Cheerios to eat, her daughter threw them on the floor and signed \u201cmore.\u201d Puzzled, Berg asked her what else she wanted, and her daughter replied \u201cmore cheese\u201d in sign language. \u201cAt 10 months, she put together a two-word sentence, which I never would have imagined a 10-month-old baby could do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berg says that some parents are concerned that teaching their baby to sign will delay their son or daughter\u2019s spoken language skills. \u201cLanguage and speech are not the same thing,\u201d she says. \u201cBabies will talk when they\u2019re ready to talk, but it gives them a useful language to use until they develop the ability to talk.\u201d
\n-SUSAN BUBAK<\/p>\n

Laura Berg shares her top three tips for teaching your baby how to sign:<\/h3>\n

Be consistent.<\/strong> Start with a simple, commonly used word such as \u201cmilk.\u201d Sign the word every time you say it, much like you would teach your baby how to say and wave \u201cbye-bye.<\/p>\n

Begin with a few words,<\/strong> then add new ones as your baby learns them.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get discouraged<\/strong> or compare your baby\u2019s progress with others. You and your baby are learning a new language, so make it fun!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Babies usually begin saying their first words between the ages of one and two, but they can start communicating even earlier if they learn sign language, says Laura Berg, founder of My Smart Hands Inc., a company that teaches parents how to sign with their babies. After graduating from U of G with a sociology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null},"categories":[80],"tags":[33,44,43,42],"yoast_head":"\nThis I know: how to teach your baby sign language -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2015\/09\/how-to-teach-your-baby-sign-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This I know: how to teach your baby sign language -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Babies usually begin saying their first words between the ages of one and two, but they can start communicating even earlier if they learn sign language, says Laura Berg, founder of My Smart Hands Inc., a company that teaches parents how to sign with their babies. 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