Baby Sign Language - Coursework Example

Baby Sign Language Name: College: Baby Sing Language Baby sign language is the way children communicate from the age of six months when they cannot talk. It is the first way children starts communicating with their parents. There are over six hundred signs that babies use to communicate (Teresa, 2008). It is important for parents to understand the language their kids use to communicate so that they can teach them the right things they can understand. Most importantly, learning is a gradual process and this means that babies understand different languages at different languages. The only way to teach children is using the language they know like using signs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the baby sign language. Background Baby sign language comprises of collection of signs and gestures that babies use to communicate. Below the age of two years, children have not mastered the art of speaking. Therefore, they use sign and body language to communicate as well as facial expressions (Karyn, 2006). Also, babies cry and make noises as a way of communicating. Babies communicate through different signs until they can speak and tell theory story. For instance, a nine year old kid can communicate by crying and making some gestures. On the other hand, the sign can show happiness and hunger. Furthermore, body movements such as waving implies that the baby is baby is saying goodbye. On the other hand, the sign language was used by the deaf in the global society. Scholars believe that sign language was the main form of communication before people evolved and started talking. Also, people believe that talking evolved from the sign language. During the Stone Age period, the early man relied on sign language to share information (Teresa, 2012). Gradually, the early man started to make some sounds that accompanied the signs. However, the speech style of communication developed in the last 50,000 years. Sign language is an important tool that is used to hear and pass information among individuals. It is worth to note that traditionally, the deaf used it to learn and the teachers used the same language to teach the deaf in the community. A child develops through various stages. When a child is below four months, they cannot communicate through signs but by making some noises. As the baby grows, they start communicating through signs with their mothers (Suzie, 2006). Most families use sign language to communicate with their children. In this regard, it is the responsibility of the parents to learn the signs their children use so that they can understand their needs. The babies use symbols to send out signals to their parents and therefore it is the responsibility of the parent to learn the language so that they can meet their expectations. More often than note, children use the same language to mean different things or they can use different signs to mean different things. As the baby grows, they learn to catch up with the changes in the environment they live. It means that parents have the responsibility of learning the different languages kids use to communicate so that they can teach them using the style they know and understand well. The same case applies when children reach the age of talking (Monta, 2009). They can use the same language but meaning different things. Even if the words come out and sound almost the same, they can have different meanings. Therefore, parents should not worry that their children are using the same words. For instance, a baby can raise his hand forth and backward severally and this means that they are communicating something. As a result, parents should not ignore their babies when they show repeated actions because they mean something and it’s upon the responsibility of the parents to learn the language their babies use to communicate. Children are very creative when their parents teach them new signs. They are faster is grasping things. In this regard, it means that parents should act as teachers and teach children new signs. The aim is to ensure they use these signs to communicate like when they want to request something (Pizer et al, 2007). The child starts to make unique hand movements repeatedly and it implies that the teachers who in this case are the parents must teach their children signs they can use to communicate until the child can start talking. In this regard, baby sign language is an important tool that parents and their children use to share ideas and understand what their children want. Therefore, the parents must understand the language their children use and learn it so that they can give their kids what they want. Literature review Benefits of baby sign language Besides ensuring efficient communication, sign language has various benefits. The first benefit of baby sign language is that it is fun. Parents introduce their children to sign language because of various reasons. However, the most important of them all is that it is fun. When kids start practicing it, it looks funny to both the kid and the parent (Nelson et al, 2012). It is worth to note that children enjoy signing when they want something or want to play with their guiders. Most children laugh when showing their signs implying that they enjoy. On the other hand, parents are hooked to the signs their children use. In this context, sign language is fun. Also, sign language contributes to building knowledge. Through signing, parents are able to understand the learning capacity of their children. The signs help parents to communicate with their children and they can teach them a variety of subjects because they can understand one another. On the other hand, children can respond to the learning lessons by showing some gestures to understand what they think about the learning process. Their signs indicate the subjects the children want most and deny the teaching that is not appropriate (Teresa, 2008). For instance, a kid can understand when the mother is angry by reading facial expression. Besides, it helps to develop necessary concepts in the development of a child. It enables them to remember things thus improve their understanding skills without talking. Therefore, signing is an essential tool in the communication process because it helps to build knowledge of the child and improve communication with other people. It also helps to make the words visual. When parents speak words to their kids, they might not make any meaning. However, using the signs alongside the words is significant because it makes the word visual and the children comprehend better (Teresa, 2008). For instance, using the wind does not make any meaning to a kid. However, using the sign together with the word makes the child to understand what the parent is talking about. Even if the kid has not reached the age of talking, using words with signs can make the word visual. As it is used regularly, the child becomes knows what the word means and when the parent uses it the kid can react appropriately. The most important thing is that the child does not understand the meaning of the word but the parent has made it visual making the child understand what he or she supposed to do. Besides making the words visual, signing helps to create better understanding. Just speaking cannot make any meaning to a baby. Using signs and spoken words improves understating of the message better as compared to just making spoken considering the fact that the kid does not understand spoken words (Karyn, 2006). On the other hand, the child responds effectively and this helps to understand what the child likes best. Therefore, baby sign language is crucial because it helps to promote understanding. It also helps to reduce baby frustration. As children grow, they develop their expression skills. It implies that they want to communicate and give their ideas better. However, they cannot communicate through speech since they have not reached the age of speaking. Therefore, they become frustrated when they do not express their views effectively. With the help of signs, it is possible to reduce baby frustration. It is worth to note that frustration comes because the kids try to pass their ideas but if the parents cannot understand them then they feel effortless (Karyn, 2006). It creates a gap between the babies and their guiders. However, as the baby begins to communicate through sign language, they can pass their message through signs and parents having experience in sign language they can understand what their children want. Therefore, it is necessary for the parents to learn the sign language so that the can interact with their kids appropriately. Myths about baby sign language There are individuals in the society who misunderstand the concept of baby sign language. As a result, they have developed myth about baby sign language. The first one is that babies who use sign language to communicate are slow to talk. They argue that children who do not use signs to pass a message are faster in talking as compared to signing kids (Teresa, 2012). It is a very thinking and perception they make because using signs does not replace talking. The underlying concept is that a kid undergoes a development process until when he becomes a grown up. Babies who can hear can talk and this is not associated with signing in any manner. In fact, children who sign are faster in talking and grasping things because they link words with the signs. Another myth is that parents push their kids too hard to use sign language. Most people who make this claim are uneducated regarding the signs babies use to communicate. They think that babies are forced to learn the language they cannot understand. However, the truth is that babies are not forced and instead they reach a growth stage where they can communicate through signs. On the contrary, it is the babies who force the parents to learn their sign language (Teresa, 2012). In this regard, they have a natural way of developing their minds and they begin with gestures significant to their parents. Some children are faster in signing while others are slow. It all depends on the natural ability of the baby. Also, there is a myth about confusing a baby. Those who believe in this myth argue that signing with babies can confuse them because they do not understand the gestures used. They cannot know what their parents are saying (Karyn, 2006). Further, they argue that babies do not comprehend anything at their age. This is a very wrong thinking they make because kids. They do not understand the development of a kid. It is worth to note that failing to sign with children affects their intellectual development. Therefore, it is important for people to understand that baby sign language in a natural development of a child at an early age. How to get started It is important to understand the general time to start signing with the baby. The baby experts suggest that signing starts when a child is six months to eight. At this age, a parent should start teaching the baby about sign language. There are children who are faster in grasping things while others are slow. When a baby is six months old, they can learn to understand few words (Warburton, 2006). When the baby reaches seven months, they start developing basic communication skills through signs. It implies that at this stage there is mental and physical coordination making the signing possible. It is important to note that babies are always eager to learn new things. They observe keenly how their parents do things and begin practicing on their own. However, some babies begin signing when they are eleven months old and this is not too late. At the start, children might not be able to sign back as their parents because everything is new. At this time, a parent should not get discouraged but can wait to see the first sign the child makes. It is because there is no standard age that all babies begin to sign (Briant, 2004). They should focus on understanding the early needs of the baby. Also, for slow learners, the parents need to be consistent with the teaching methods they use to sign with their babies. It is important because it helps to make learning easy for the baby because using different languages affect their concentration. It is the responsibility of the parent to select the best learning environment for their babies because the environment influences the learning process of the child. In this context, one can understand that sign language influences the learning skills of a child from an early age. Future directions Based on the findings of this research, more specific research is required to determine specific details regarding the baby sign language. For instance, research is required to determine the relationship between baby sign language and the intellectual skills of the baby. It is because some research indicates that babies who are faster in signing have high intellectual quotient (Seal & DePaolis, 2014). As a result, the findings of the study will be more specific. Conducting this kind of research improves the development of educational programs. For instance, the education institutions and the parents understand their children better and they can provide relevant support to improve the development process of the child. Also, the research will determine the parental issues as well as the rights of children. It is necessary to provide children with relevant support so that they can develop well. It is because understanding the relationship between the baby sign language and intellectual skills aids to develop educational programs taking into account the rights of children like access to quality education system. Besides, the recommendations based on the research can trigger more research like the impact of health programs on the development process of the child (Goodwyn et al, 2000). For instance, the government can develop health programs to babies with the aim of promoting their health so that they can start signing at an early age as possible. Conclusion Baby sign language is the development process where babies begin to use signs to communicate. Research shows that the stage begins when the babies are between six and eight months. Sign language traces its roots long time ago when people communicated through signs. Later, they accompanied signs with sounds and this developed the speech. Various reasons of signing exit. The first benefit is that it promotes fun in the learning and improves understanding of the baby because of combining words with gestures. It also contributes to baby development besides eliminating frustration from babies. However, it is important to eliminate myths that signing is confusing children because it is a natural development process that every child undergoes. Finally, further research is required to ascertain the impact of sign language on a baby’s intellect. References Briant, M. Z. (2004). Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers. New York: New York: Hay House Incorporated. Goodwyn, S. W. Acredolo, L. P & Brown, C. A. (2000). "Impact of Symbolic Gesturing on Early Language Development". Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 24 (2): 81–103. Karyn, W. (2006). Baby Sign Language for hearing babies. New York: Perigree Books. Monta, B. (2009). Baby Sign Language Basics. New York: Hay House, Inc. Nelson, L. H. White, K. R & Grewe, J. (2012). "Evidence for Website Claims about the Benefits of Teaching Sign Language to Infants and Toddlers with Normal Hearing". Infant and Child Development. 21 (5): 474–502. Pizer, G. Walters, K & Meier, R. P. (2007). "Bringing up Baby with Baby Signs: Language Ideologies and Socialization in Hearing Families". Sign Language Studies. 7 (4): 387–43. Suzie, C. (2006). Baby Sign Language. New York: Morris Book Publishing. Seal, B. C & DePaolis, R. A. (2014). "Manual activity and onset of first words in babies exposed and not exposed to baby signing". Sign Language Studies. 14 (4): 444–465. Teresa, S. (2008). The Everything Baby Sign Language Book. Massachusetts: Adams Media. Teresa, S. (2012). Essential Baby Sign Language. New York: Adams Media. Warburton, K. (2006). Baby Sign Language for Hearing Babies. New York: New York: Penguin. Read More