Communication is key to maintaining a good relationship, and babies are no different. If a baby can use simple sign language to indicate when it is hungry, thirsty, hot or cold, experts say the baby is less likely to throw a tantrum out of frustration and more likely to share its observations.
On Tuesday night, Dr. Linda Acredolo talked to 50 child care professionals and some expectant mothers in San Mateo about how to use basic signs to communicate with babies, and she will hold another talk Wednesday night.
"This is not difficult, this is not rocket science, this is a way to make life for you and your baby much more pleasant," Acredolo said.
A decade's worth of research from a National Institutes of Health grant led her and colleague Dr. Susan Goodwyn to believe signing reduces frustration, promotes healthier caregiving, reduces aggressive behavior and develops babies' emotional awareness and empathy.
Babies first understand words at about six months, and signing is particularly effective until 20 months of age when they usually start constructing two-word sentences.
Babies can sign when they need things, like food or drink, rather than cry for attention, and parents can teach them words while positively reinforcing their learning, Acredolo said.
Skeptical parents have worried signing might hinder babies from speaking, but her studies showed signing actually excited them about communicating and "pulled" words from the child about topics he or she wanted to know.
If a baby hears a dog barking, for example, it could tug its ear lobe and pant to indicate what it hears. Then a mother could say, "yes it is a dog," Acredolo said.
Positive reinforcements engages both parent and child, she said, and signing could also protect babies from danger.
If a mother inadvertently lowered it into a bathtub that is too hot, a baby could puff its cheeks and blow, indicating the heat.
Recommended for you
Acredolo said the interaction increases caregivers' respect for the child, and promotes observational skills.
Common signs like waving good-bye, opening a book or gesturing it is time for sleep can also be practical.
"They get so tickled when they're able to communicate, Acredolo told the group.
The Child Care Coordinating Council will have another lecture and demonstration on baby signing 7 p.m. tonight at 2121 S. El Camino Real, Conference Room B in San Mateo.
The talk, which is also translated into Spanish, is free, but seating is limited to 50 and those who want to attend must call Tiffanie at 655-6770 ext. 269 to register.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.