Baby sign is a concept that although not widely used is gaining popularity. It consists of using sign language with infants and toddlers to facilitate communication.

Supporters argue that children often have the desire to communicate; however, coordination of lips, tongue, vocal chords, etc required for speech advances slower than the child's cognitive ability and hand-eye coordination. This leads to a lack of ability to communicate verbally causing frustration for the child. Therefore, using their advanced hand-eye coordination and cognition, infants and toddlers can learn sign for drink, eat and other basic needs early, enhancing their ability to communicate these needs before their speech ability develops. Evidence shows this helps reduce frustration and stress to children leading to less tantrums.

Research also shows baby sign results in facilitated brain development and a higher I.Q. of approximately 10 points in signing children.

There are no negative sides or aspects to baby signing that I can see. It is a wonderful concept to be able to relate to your child at an earlier age. Meeting those basic needs leads to a more stable environment for the child and parent. This enables more focus to be on the developing or budding relationship between a parent and their child.

If you do decide to use signing with your child, be consistent in using them. Always use the sign and speak the word together to make the correlation. Remember to be patient because results may not be evident for several months. Communication is key in all relationships be it sign or speech.

Learn more about this author, Missie Kay.
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