Language is Symbolic
When you sign with your baby, your little one will learn that her thoughts
can be shared in a symbolic way. For example, a baby may think "All I have to do is pat my leg and my
parents will understand that I’m talking about the dog across the street!"
Play with Language
When a child starts learning a language…any language…they will make
mistakes, e.g., calling a “cow” a “dog”. When these mistakes are made it
creates opportunities for caregivers to correct the mistakes and teach new
words. My daughter mistakenly signed “ball”
when she saw an orange when she was 11 months old. I saw that she had made a
mistake, let her try the orange and showed her the sign for “orange”. When
children can sign before they can speak, they can make language mistakes
earlier and learn many more words earlier as well!
Influencing their World
When a child can sign to communicate they also learn earlier that
language can be used to influence others. "I can get mom to put more blueberries on my plate if I sign
MORE." Sign language will let your child begin to understand and play with
the basic functions of language at a very early age.
When we posed this topic on our Facebook page, WeeHands Instructor Valinda Vincent shared, “My daughter understands more words than her
non signing friends. She is able to communicate her needs without having to
cry, whine and tantrum. Her overall interest in language is heightened!”
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