Question: "Will sign language delay our baby's language development?"
Answer: No, studies have shown that sign actually enhances a baby's language development by allowing them to learn and play with language before speech develops. The motor skills needed for speech develop between 12 and 18 months while the motor skills needed for signing can develop between 6 and 12 months. This means that babies who are signed to can be expressively using language months before their non-signed to peers. This gives your baby the opportunity to play with language and shows them how they can influence their world ("hmmm, mommy gets excited when I sign cookie and I get to each something that I love!").
Babies can also use signs to choose the subject of a conversation. A few months ago I was rushing to get Sabrina (at 14 months) into her car seat and she kept signing "dog". I stopped and saw that the little terrier across the street was out on our neighbour's porch. Sabrina loves this dog and was telling me to slow down and enjoy the moment with her!
Signing allows babies to play with language. At 13 months, Sabrina knew the sign for "ball", one day she pointed to an orange and signed "ball". This provided me with an opportunity to teach her a new word. I cut up the orange and signed "orange" for each piece I gave her. She loved the orange and ate about 30 small pieces in 10 minutes! This equal opportunities to show her the sign for "orange". At the end of her snack, she knew and was using the sign for "orange"! At 16 months, Sabrina had a vocabulary of more than 80 words, a combination of her signs and verbal words. Babies who are not signed to at this age, typically have 10-15 verbal words. Signing allows babies to develop larger vocabularies!
Sara Bingham is mom to two children, Joshua age 6 and Sabrina age 4. She is also the founder of WeeHands. Since 2001, WeeHands has taught over 5000 families and caregivers to sign with their wee ones. WeeHands, one of the Canada's first baby sign language companies, offers classes across North America.
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