Consider this scenario, your 8 month old is crying uncontrollably. You’ve changed his diaper, you’ve fed him, you’ve rocked him, you’ve done everything you can think of to satisfy his needs, but he continues. This is a real frustration, for you and for him. What if your baby could tell you what she wants? He can do this by including baby sign language in her daily communication with him.

Typical language development in children tells us that by 12 months babies can use one or more words with meaning. Until then, how has your baby communicated with you? In most cases, their communication has been through tears and tantrums. They are not only crying, many times you are too. Babies are aware of their wants and needs before they can use language to communicate with them. Without language, they must convey their needs with crying and tantrums. They will develop different outbursts for different needs: hunger, pain, comfort, and more. Your frustration starts when you try to decipher those different screams. Babies are born with an instinctive need to communicate. Imagine their frustration and yours when they can’t.

By teaching your baby sign language, you will be able to communicate your basic needs starting at 6 months. If the baby can wave bye-bye or raise her arms to be picked up, she can use sign language. Babies develop fine hand muscles before they develop speech muscles. They can communicate with you before they can talk. Imagine being able to meet your babies needs with a wave of your hand instead of long periods of tears and tantrums.

As parents, we marvel at the first year of our child’s life. His birth weight triples; they go from being completely helpless to walking; their cognitive development is amazing and they begin to speak around their 12th month, however their language is limited to single words like mommy and daddy. The only thing we can’t truly see or understand is what’s going on in their little minds. That is due to their lack of a way to communicate with us. Yes, we do learn to decipher their cries, to a degree, but does that really tell us much about their wants and needs? Should your baby have to communicate with you out of frustration? There is a better way. Your baby can communicate with you at the age of 6 months using sign language.

Babies are born with the need to communicate, yet the type of motor skills needed to speak are not mastered until 12 months. They have the ability to understand language and use it much sooner.

From birth, babies communicate by crying. Around 7 months of age they begin to use gestures, along with their tears, to communicate their needs. They will point, shake their heads, and raise their arms to be picked up. They have learned these gestures from those around them. By repeating these gestures, babies soon learn that they can communicate with us. They begin to feel more control over their environment. If, at this point, you begin to use signs along with verbal language, your baby will soon recognize that she can communicate more extensively by copying her gestures. She will develop her confidence that they can affect the world around them and that we value her contribution.

Once you start teaching your baby American Sign Language, you’ll soon see the benefits of early communication. These benefits include:

• Reduced frustration (for you and baby)

• Stress reduction for the whole family

• Your baby will be able to communicate his wants and needs

• Build trust with your child

• Strengthen the self-confidence and self-esteem of their babies

• Positively influence the environment of their babies

• The ability to share your world

• Positive emotional development in your child

• Greater self-esteem

Research has shown us that babies who sign are happier and less frustrated. This means that you too will be happy and less frustrated. You will be amazed at what is going on in their little heads.

Because now you will have a shared language, instead of crying and tantrums, your baby will sign for milk; you will answer; and everyone will be smiling. What could be better than that?