Published Date: May 27, 2021
What Are Baby Signs?
Having a sick child is an upsetting and worrisome experience for all parents. Because very young children can’t talk, parents often have to guessing what’s wrong. Is the baby teething? Does he or she has an earache?
Is she cold or wet or simply lonely? How to talk with your baby is a skill you must master.
I recall one of my clients and baby Sophia. Long before she could say the word ‘fever’, she was able to tell her mother exactly what she was feeling and what she needed.
The baby signs which Sophia and hundreds of thousands of other babies around the world are using are based on both cutting-edge child ‘development research’ and old – fashioned common sense about how babies communicate.
These gestures are examples of Baby Signs – simple, easy-to-remember signs that babies can use to talk about things in their world that they don’t have words for yet.
In their great desire to communicate, babies often spontaneously figure out ways to “talk,” using simple signs that resemble what they are interested in, such as “painting” for dog, “sniffing” for flowers, and “flapping arms “for bird.
This is why we call Baby Signs a “natural sign language.”
Unfortunately most parents never appreciate their baby’s ability to learn additional signs beyond bye-bye, yes, and no that can help them communicate in ways that otherwise would be impossible until they can speak.
Talking is so easy for adults that we forget how difficult it was to learn. When a baby finally produces a true word, she is demonstrating an impressive degree of mastery over all the large and small body parts necessary to make the particular sounds involved.
There’s the tongue to place, the lips to form, the vocal chords to control, the breathing to regulate, and much more.
The reason for “baby talk” – those difficult-to-decipher words, such as “wawa” for water – is that babies are physically unable to string together necessary sounds in the words, but are doing their best to practice.
It takes time, often until they are three years old, before they have mastered their vocal chords enough to make them do exactly what they want them to do.
Baby Signs And American Sign Language
We’ve been asked by many of our clients how regular Baby Signs relate to American Sign Language (ASL), the official language of the deaf communities
The simple answer is that the Baby Sign method incorporates the most useful, ‘baby friendly” signs from ASL and combines them with signs that babies and parents have created themselves and found particularly useful.
We also knew that young babies, with their limited motor coordination, are not able to master many of the complex hand shapes of ASL.
Because for hearing babies using sign language is simply language is simply a temporary bridge to speech, our goal has always been to do what is easiest for babies and their parents.
Our focus has not been to teach hearing babies a second language but to provide them with the signs that they can use most easily to express their needs, thoughts and feelings until they have words.
Research has shown that signs are easiest for babies – and for parents – when they involve simple gestures and when they resemble the things they stand for ( e.g. fingers to lips for eat, arms out straight like wings for airplane). Baby Signs, whether from ASL or not, have been selected based on what has worked best for babies and parents.
Benefits For Your Baby
Imagine how frustrating it would be if you were unable to talk and had no way to express your needs, fears, and thoughts about the world we live in. It’s no argument, parents know that a hearing disability is a terrible thing.
You would feel locked in a prison of isolation, (Like it was during the pandemic outbreak.) Babies often feel this same way, which is why they so frequently throw tantrums and use whatever means they have – pointing and screaming – to try to convey what they are thinking and wanting.
More than a decade of research have consistently shown us that daily life with a proverbial baby test everyone’s patience.
This is were Baby Signs comes in.
One Main Benefit : Makes Family Life Easier and Decreases Tears.
Baby Signs alleviate frustration and avoid the need for a baby to be totally dependent on pointing, crying, or an urgent “Uh! Uh! Uh!” to get a message across.
In the story of Sophia, as I mentioned above, we’ve seen how using Baby Signs helped a proverbial baby tell her mother what she was experiencing and what she really needed.
Not only are children better able to communicate their needs, but parents also find that Baby Signs open a window into their child’s mind that profoundly enriches the experience of parenting.
In the following story, Baby Signs helped turn one sleepless night into a sublime experience of sharing for a father long before his son had the vocal ability to speak.
A Father’s Experience
“Thirteen-month-old Bryce often had difficulty sleeping through the night. One morning just before dawn, he awoke and began to cry.
When Bryce’s mom, Karen, heard him, she reached over and gave Bryce’s dad, Norm, a shake. “It’s your turn,” she whispered sleepily to Norm. After a few protests, Norm reluctantly crawled out of bed and went in to comfort Bryce, typically not an easy job.
Realizing that racking Bryce was not going to work this time, Norm took Bryce out onto the front porch, sat down on the glider, and began to glide back & forth.
Norm felt frustrated sitting on the porch at 5:30 in the morning when he should have been upstairs in his cozy bed.
Settling a bit, Bryce noticed the sun peeking up from the horizon. Still whimpering, he looked at his dad with tear-stained cheeks and flashed his fingers, making the Baby Sign for light. Norm’s heart melted and he hugged Bryce tightly. “That’s right, Bryce. This sun is coming up and giving us it’s light.” Norm still remembers this as one of his favorite moments with his son.
Let’s consider right now, what young Sophia, Jennifer, and Bryce have in common. I each case a baby, even without words, was able to convey a message and enjoy the experience of being quickly, and accurately understood. Inter-changes such as these foster feelings of competence and trust and help avoid frustration.
“The result is a warmer, more satisfying relationship between child and adult.”
Here’s something I know You’ll like. Look at
"Kutoka kwa ""Mwezi wa 5, 2021"" - Ni nini alama za mtoto?" Kuwa na mtoto mgonjwa ni jambo lenye kusumbua na lenye kuogopesha kwa wazazi wote. Kwa sababu watoto wadogo sana hawawezi kuzungumza, mara nyingi wazazi hulazimika kukisia ni nini kibaya. Je, mtoto anaanza kutokeza meno? Je, yeye au yeye ana maumivu ya masikio? Je, ana baridi au ana mvua au ni mpweke tu? Jinsi ya kuzungumza na mtoto wako ni ujuzi ambao unapaswa kuufahamu. Mmoja wa wateja wangu, Sophia, alikuwa na mtoto. Muda mrefu kabla ya yeye kusema neno <unk>mwagaji<unk>, alikuwa na uwezo wa kumwambia mama yake hasa nini alikuwa akihisi na nini yeye alihitaji. Ishara za mtoto ambazo Sophia na mamia ya maelfu ya watoto wengine ulimwenguni kote wanatumia zinategemea utafiti wa kisasa wa maendeleo ya mtoto na akili ya kawaida ya zamani juu ya jinsi watoto wanavyowasiliana. Ishara hizi ni mifano ya Ishara za Mtoto - ishara rahisi, rahisi kukumbuka ambazo watoto wanaweza kutumia kuzungumza juu ya mambo katika ulimwengu wao ambayo bado hawana maneno ya kusema. Katika hamu yao kubwa ya kuwasiliana, watoto mara nyingi hujifunza njia za "kuzungumza", wakitumia ishara rahisi zinazofanana na kile wanachopendezwa nacho, kama vile "kuchora" kwa mbwa, "kuvuta harufu" kwa maua, na "kupiga makofi" kwa ndege. "Kwa hivyo, ishara za mtoto ni ""lugha ya ishara ya asili"" - kwa hivyo, wazazi wengi hawajui jinsi mtoto wao anavyoweza kujifunza ishara za ziada zaidi ya ""hapa, hapa, na hapana"" - ambazo zinaweza kuwasaidia kuwasiliana kwa njia ambazo vinginevyo zingekuwa haiwezekani mpaka waweze kuzungumza." Kuzungumza ni rahisi sana kwa watu wazima hivi kwamba tunasahau jinsi ilivyokuwa vigumu kujifunza. Mtoto anapotoa neno sahihi, anaonyesha uwezo mkubwa wa kuweza kutumia sehemu zote kubwa na ndogo za mwili ili kutokeza sauti hususa. Kuna ulimi wa kuwekwa, midomo ya kufanyizwa, kamba za sauti za kudhibiti, kupumua kwa kudhibiti, na mengi zaidi. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""baby talk"" ni neno ambalo ni vigumu kueleweka, kama vile ""wawa"" kwa maji, kwa sababu watoto hawawezi kuunganisha sauti muhimu katika maneno, lakini wanafanya kila wawezalo kufanya mazoezi." Inachukua muda, mara nyingi hadi wanapokuwa na umri wa miaka mitatu, kabla ya kuweza kutumia sauti zao vya kutosha kuwafanya wafanye kile wanachotaka. "Mfano wa ishara za mtoto na lugha ya ishara ya Marekani: ""Mfano wa ishara za mtoto"" ni lugha ya ishara ya Marekani (ASL), ambayo ni lugha rasmi ya jamii ya viziwi, na inaonyesha ishara za mtoto na ishara za wazazi na watoto." "Wanafunzi hao pia waligundua kwamba watoto wadogo, kwa sababu ya uwezo wao mdogo wa kuratibu mambo, hawawezi kuelewa ""mfano"" wa mikono katika lugha ya Kiingereza." Kwa sababu kwa watoto wanaosikia kutumia lugha ya ishara, lugha ni daraja la muda tu kwa usemi, lengo letu daima limekuwa kufanya kile kilicho rahisi zaidi kwa watoto na wazazi wao. """Lengo letu halikuwa kuwafundisha watoto wanaosikia lugha ya pili bali kuwapa ishara ambazo wanaweza kutumia kwa urahisi kueleza mahitaji yao, mawazo na hisia zao mpaka wawe na maneno." Utafiti umeonyesha kwamba ishara ni rahisi kwa watoto wachanga <unk> na kwa wazazi <unk> wakati zinahusisha ishara rahisi na wakati zinafanana na vitu vinavyowakilisha (kwa mfano Vipande vya mikono kwa midomo kwa chakula, mikono moja kwa moja kama mabawa kwa ndege. Kwa mfano, ishara za mtoto, kama kutoka ASL au la, zimechaguliwa kulingana na kile kilichokuwa kikifanya kazi bora kwa watoto na wazazi. Fikiria jinsi ingekuwa vigumu sana ikiwa ungeweza kuzungumza na ungeweza kueleza mahitaji yako, hofu zako, na mawazo yako kuhusu ulimwengu tunaoishi. Hakuna ubishi, wazazi wanajua kwamba ulemavu wa kusikia ni jambo baya sana. "Utakisikia kama umefungwa gerezani, kama ulivyokuwa wakati wa janga hilo.""" Watoto wadogo mara nyingi huhisi hivyo, na hiyo ndiyo sababu mara nyingi wao hutumia njia zozote wanazokuwa nazo - kuonyesha na kupiga kelele - kujaribu kueleza kile wanachofikiri na wanataka. Zaidi ya miaka kumi ya utafiti imetuonyesha mara kwa mara kwamba maisha ya kila siku na mtoto wa mithali hujaribu subira ya kila mtu. Hii ni ambapo Baby Signs huja. Faida Kuu: Inafanya Maisha ya Familia Yawe Rahisi Na Kupunguza Machozi. Ishara za Mtoto hupunguza kukata tamaa na kuepuka uhitaji wa mtoto kuwa tegemezi kabisa kwa kuelekeza, kulia, au <unk>Uh! Uh! (Kushangaa) Uh!<unk> kupata ujumbe katika. Katika hadithi ya Sophia, kama nilivyosema hapo juu, tumeona jinsi kutumia Ishara za Mtoto kulivyomsaidia mtoto wa mithali kumwambia mama yake kile alichokuwa akipitia na kile alichohitaji kweli. Watoto hawawezi tu kuwasiliana vizuri na mahitaji yao, lakini wazazi pia wanapata kwamba ishara za mtoto hufungua dirisha katika akili ya mtoto wao ambayo huongeza sana uzoefu wa uzazi. Katika hadithi ifuatayo, ishara za mtoto zilisaidia kugeuza usiku mmoja usio na usingizi kuwa uzoefu mzuri wa kushiriki kwa baba muda mrefu kabla ya mwanawe kuwa na uwezo wa sauti ya kuzungumza. Uzoefu wa Baba <unk> Bryce mwenye umri wa miezi kumi na mitatu mara nyingi alikuwa na ugumu wa kulala usiku kucha. Asubuhi moja kabla tu ya mapambazuko, aliamka na kuanza kulia. Mama ya Bryce, Karen, alipomsikia, alimfikia na kumshika Norm, baba ya Bryce. "Ni zamu yako", alimsikilizia Norm kwa usingizi. Baada ya maandamano machache, Norm aliruka kutoka kitandani kwa kusita na kuingia ndani kumfariji Bryce, kazi ambayo kwa kawaida si rahisi. Alipoona kwamba kumshambulia Bryce hakutakuwa na matokeo wakati huu, Norm alimchukua Bryce kwenye ukumbi wa mbele, akaketi kwenye glider, na kuanza kuteleza mbele na nyuma. Norm alivunjika moyo kwa kuketi kwenye veranda saa 5:30 asubuhi wakati alipaswa kuwa juu katika kitanda chake kitulivu. Alipokuwa akitulia kidogo, Bryce aliona jua likiangaza kwenye upeo wa macho. Akiwa bado analia, alimtazama baba yake kwa mashavu yaliyotiwa machozi na kutikisa vidole vyake, akifanya Ishara ya Mtoto kwa mwanga. Moyo wa Norm uliyeyuka na akamkumbatia Bryce kwa nguvu. Hiyo ni haki, Bryce. Jua hili linatoka na kutupa nuru yake. Norm bado anakumbuka hii kama moja ya wakati wake favorite na mwanawe. Hebu tuchunguze sasa hivi, kile ambacho Sophia mchanga, Jennifer, na Bryce wanafanana. Katika kila kisa mtoto, hata bila maneno, aliweza kuwasiliana na kufurahia uzoefu wa kueleweka haraka na kwa usahihi. Mabadiliko kama haya kukuza hisia ya uwezo na uaminifu na kusaidia kuepuka kukata tamaa. <unk>Mafanikio ni uhusiano wa joto, wenye kuridhisha zaidi kati ya mtoto na mtu mzima.<unk> Hapa ni kitu ninachojua utapenda. Angalia