Benefits
Families who use the
Baby Signs® Program know firsthand that there are many benefits to using signs
with their babies. Using the Baby Signs® Program:
·
Reduces
tears, tantrums, & frustration
·
Allows
babies to share their worlds
·
Increases
respect for babies
·
Strengthens
the parent-infant bond
·
Boosts
self-esteem and self-confidence
·
Makes
learning to talk easier
·
Stimulates
intellectual development
More than two decades
of Baby Signs® research has shown that these proven benefits affect different
areas of a child's development.
Language Development
Using the Baby Signs®
Program Makes Learning to Talk Easier!
Some parents worry
that encouraging their child to use signs might slow down learning to talk.
Actually, the opposite is true! With the help of a large grant from the federal
government, Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn were able to show that
using the Baby Signs® Program actually helps babies learn to talk. Just as a
child who learns to crawl is more, rather than less motivated to learn to walk,
so also a child who learns to sign more, rather than less motivated to learn to
talk! The groundbreaking research completed by Baby Signs® authors Dr. Linda
Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn showed extensive benefits for language
development including:
By the time they were 2 years-old, Baby Signs® babies had significantly larger vocabularies than their non-signing peers. By the time they were three years old, their language skills were more like that of their four year-old peers.
By the time they were 2 years-old, Baby Signs® babies had significantly larger vocabularies than their non-signing peers. By the time they were three years old, their language skills were more like that of their four year-old peers.
Social-Emotional
Development
Reduces Tears,
Tantrums, and Frustration!
By the time babies
are 9 to 10 months old, they are quite capable of knowing what it is they need
or want. What they don't know is how to tell us with words - which leads
directly to frustration for baby and parent alike. All this changes when a baby
is able to use signs. With signs like "thirsty," "hungry,"
"hot," and "cold" - and many, many others- at their
disposal, babies can make their needs known quickly and quietly without
resorting to tantrums and tears. No wonder "Decreased frustration!"
is the answer we most frequently get when we ask how using the Baby Signs®
Program has changed daily life.
Allows Babies to
Share their Worlds.
Just because babies
don't talk doesn't mean they aren't paying attention to the world around them.
Babies are seeing things, thinking things, even remembering things -- and with
signs at their command, all this needn't remain their secret. Parents of Baby
Signs® babies quickly learn to see the world through their baby's eyes and
appreciate in a whole new way what an amazing world it is!
Boosts Self-Esteem
and Self-Confidence.
What good self-esteem
boils down to for any of us is the sense that we are perceived as competent and
praiseworthy in both our own eyes and in the eyes of those we love. And that's
just what the ability to use signs yields. Because they can communicate
effectively with their caregivers, and because their caregivers respond so
positively to these communications, Baby Signs® babies develop a sense of pride
in their accomplishments that is wonderful to see.
Cognitive Development
Using the Baby Signs® Program Stimulates
Intellectual Development!
Baby Signs®
babies are busily using their signs to learn about the world while their
non-signing peers are still waiting for the words they need to do the same. For
example, a Baby Signs® baby may label a piece of broccoli with a sign for
"flower" while smiling quizzically, essentially asking, "It
looks like a flower, but what is it really?" We now know that all this
early learning pays off down the road. When Linda and Susan revisited the
children from their government-funded study of the Baby Signs® Program after
the children had finished second grade, they found that those who had used
signs when they were babies had higher IQs than those who had not!
For more information about our infant program or other ages, please visit www.academychilddevelopment.com
