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Patty Shukla - Nursery Rhymes and Preschool videos

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Itsy Bitsy Spider Nursery rhyme song for children (sung by Patty Shukla)

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Nursery Rhymes Hand Motions - Wheels on the Bus - Children's Motion Songs - Activities for Kids

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Mr. Sun - Children's song with hand movements!

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Song with Hand Movements

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Baby Shark | MyGo! Sign Language For Kids | CoComelon - Nursery Rhymes | ASL

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Teaching a baby sign language results in less temper tantrums from inability to communicate

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Parents can be more confident that they can communicate with their children

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Helps to develops speech and language skills early on

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It reduces negative social behaviors

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Can make communication easier for children who develop speech impairments

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Babies that learn baby sign are more likely to talk earlier

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Babies are able to understand earlier than they can communicate, helps them to utilize language

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Teaching baby sign increases a baby’s IQ

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It can help to get them reading earlier on

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Encourage babies to use their bodies and develop gross motor skills

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Baby sign language has been a hot topic for the last decade or so, but are there really any benefits? A few small studies point to increased intellectual development, but the primary benefit of using baby sign language is decreased frustration for both you and your baby. Long before babies begin using words, they can use sign language to communicate their needs and wants - typically around 8 months, according to the Mayo Clinic.

It makes sense that a child who can be expressive is likely to feel happier and more confident. Using sign language helps babies understand that communication is a way to meet needs, which in turn fosters adult - child connections. In a study by R. Thompson, et al. reported by the National Institutes of Health, infants who were taught signs had fewer episodes of crying or temper tantrums. Parents also report feeling more confident because they have a better understanding of how to respond to their babies. Best of all, teaching sign language to babies is simple.

Tips for Teaching Sign Language to Babies

Start simple. Find sign language books or websites to learn a few basic signs. Choose signs for words that are concrete or meaningful to your baby based on their experience and interest, such as more, ball, drink, up, out, or please. Teach only 3 to 5 words initially and use the signs in conjunction with spoken language

Use signs during normal everyday routines and activities. To help your baby to learn sign language, say the word as you make the sign in a meaningful real-life setting. For example, if your baby gestures for more crackers, say "more" while making the sign with your hands. Consistently make this sign every time your baby asks for more food. Hold your baby on your lap with her back to your stomach. Hold her hands and make the sign, saying the word at the same time. Be sure to give lots of encouragement when your baby makes a sign independently. Say, "You did it! You told me you want more by using your hands!"

Allow your baby to set the pace and progress slowly. As your baby masters initial signs, you can add a few more. Remember, though, your goal isn't to make your child fluent in sign language so much as providing another way to communicate until verbal skills develop. Stick with basic signs for words that your child uses every day and introduce only a couple at a time. As babies become more proficient with spoken language, they will typically phase out of using signs.

Keep it fun. Be sure to keep lessons brief and fun. The point of teaching sign language is to reduce frustration, simplify communication, and connect with your baby in a meaningful way.

Parents often worry about child development milestones and how early they can begin teaching their baby sign language. You can start demonstrating simple signs as soon as your baby is able to maintain eye contact and seems interested in communicating with you - typically between 5 and 6 months. Most babies don't begin making signs in response though until 8 or 9 months. Be patient and enjoy this time with your infant. Some babies may make up their own signs. Make sure to acknowledge these efforts as well!

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Are there benefits to teaching sign language to babies? See how sign language helps child development & find tips to help infants learn sign language.

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The Benefits of Sign Language for Babies and Toddlers’ - Sensory Solutions

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In recent years, there has been a growing trend of teaching babies and toddlers’ sign language. Some may wonder, will the use of sign…

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A baby's giggle is a precious sound, not to mention those long awaited first words. But in the meantime, communicating with your baby is a crucial skill that must be learned by parent and child alike. Laughing and crying are baby's ways of sharing needs and emotions, but what about another way to express themselves? Before babies can use speech to effectively communicate, they can actually start by using gestures. So, whether your baby is able or unable to hear, infant sign language can be an invaluable tool for communicating, learning, and living!

Want to know more? Read on for the benefits of teaching your tykes sign language...

Development

Research suggests that using gestures can typically help babies communicate as early as several months before they can rely on speech alone. So, if you are wondering when to start teaching baby sign language, it can be helpful to try new words early, at around five to six months old. At around six to seven months, babies will be able to start remembering a sign. By eight months, they can start signing single words and begin to imitate gestures. After lots of practice, at two years old, kids can sign compound words and even full sentences!

Communication

Without the use of gestures, babies rely on their guardians to interpret their cries. For parents, this can be a tricky task. But babies can use gestures in the forms of words and simple phrases to communicate to show parents that they need attention. While cries leave you trying different options (food, sleep, cuddles), simple signs can help your baby let you know what their specific need is.

Learning

One of the most noticeable benefits of learning infant sign language is that it speeds up mental skills and even speech development. Babies who sign often tend to learn to speak earlier and have better language skills. Learning sign language can also help kids think more creatively and develop better problem solving skills. The combination of learning verbal and non-verbal communication can lead to understanding more vocabulary and longer sentences. These benefits can often lead to overall improved academic performance in the future.

Memory

Signing can make language a multi-sensory experience. Communicating through seeing, hearing, and movement creates more pathways in the brain to solidify memory and improve recall. Children end up using both sides of the brain to remember language and as they learn words, they are engaging their muscle memory too! This can help to reinforce other concepts that your little one is learning, such as the alphabet, animals, and so much more.

Psychology

When babies struggle to show their guardians what they need through verbal means alone, they can become confused and frustrated when trying to communicate. Infant sign language can allow babies to develop a better understanding of their parents and to feel more understood, thereby easing frustration and facilitating parent-child bonding. Having multiple ways to express themselves can form healthy and effective communication with parents that can serve to improve self-esteem and confidence for years to come.

At Coastal Kids Pediatrics , we want to ensure that you have the best tools at hand to help your little one learn to thrive in this big, new world. When deciding how to begin communicating with your child, we hope knowing the many benefits of baby sign language can help you evaluate whether using gestures is the right fit for your family. For any questions, don't hesitate to reach out, our passionate team is always ready to lend a hand!

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Importance of Teaching Sign Language to Infants

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Hands Up! The Benefits of Teaching Your Baby Sign Language A baby's giggle is a precious sound, not to mention those long awaited first words. But in the meantime, communicating with your baby is a crucial skill that must be learned by parent and child alike.

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If you are a parent of a baby or toddler (or currently pregnant) you probably have heard of â€œbaby sign.â€ But what exactly is it and why would want to use sign language with child? How? Where and when should you start? This is one of many posts I am writing this month on the topic of sign language and why I think itâ€™s awesome for babies and children of all ages to learn it!

This week, I shared the definition ofÂ sign language and why I amÂ thankful I am using it with with my 16 month old son Ev. But why should you consider using sign language with your infant or toddler?

The Many Benefits of Sign Language

1. Sign language provides the ability to communicate earlier than speech
You probably already know that babies and toddlers are able to understand far more than they can express. Receptive language skills, what they can understand, develop earlier than expressive language skills, or what they can say. In fact, the motor skills and auditory perceptual skills needed to articulate speech are simply not developed enough to produce words until around 10-12 months of age (give or take) and then they continue to develop for years.

2. Earlier communication can decrease tantrum behaviorMany early tantrums in toddlers are often a result of their inability to communicate their wants and needs effectively (hence the term "the terrible twos which I find start at more like 15 months...). By giving your child the gift of sign language as an early communication tool, you may see a decrease in tantrum behavior as he will be able to communicate to you more effectively than with speech and gesture alone.

3. Teaching sign language to your child may increase your child's vocabulary and language skillsWhen you are teaching your child sign language, you will find yourself saying the name of the sign out loud many, many times as you show your child the sign. You will find yourself talking a lot about the items you are teaching. For example, when you see a dog walk by you may stop, get down at your child's level, and say (as you are signing dog) "Johnny! Do you see the DOG? It's a D-O-G (as you continue to sign) See the DOG? Look, DOG (as you sign again)" You will find yourself talking about things more and repeating things more than if you were not teaching your child sign. This repetition, both auditory and visually,Â may help to expand your child's receptive and expressive vocabulary and language skills.

In addition to the increased verbal repetition that sign often provides, it also provides language opportunities in a tactile, kinesthetic, and visual modality. Presenting vocabulary and language in a modality other than simply verbal increases the child's ability of learning.

4. Teaching sign language to your child may increase your child's reading and spelling skills and even IQ
There is research to support that hearing children who are taught sign language from an early age have better reading and spelling skills and yes, even higher IQ scores down the road.

5. Teaching sign language to your child may increase your child's visual attention skills and joint attention skills
Using and understanding sign language requires a child to utalize his visual and joint attention skills, both of which are very important skills in both learning and social interactions.

6. Teaching sign language can be a wonderful bonding experience
Yes, teaching your infant or toddler sign language can really be a fantastic bonding experience. When you teach you child sign, you must get down at their level and look at them. You must interact with your child, label, talk, describe, make eye contact and demonstrate the sign. You also will often show your child how to make the sign hand-over-hand. All of these interactions can help increase the bond you have with your child.

7. Teaching sign language can help promote your child's fine motor skills Â Teaching your child sign language allows for more fine motor practice as your child signs back to you!

8. Teaching your child sign language will provide him the opportunity to communicate with those who are deafThere are hundreds of thousands of deaf people in the US who use American Sign Language as their primarily language. How fantastic would it be if your child was playing at the park and met a deaf child and he could communicate to him? How do you think that would effect the deaf child and his parents?

9. Teaching sign language to your child is F U N!
Seriously. It is so much fun teaching sign language to your child! So...even if you don't care about numbers 1-8...if you want to add a fun activity to your child's daily routine, teach her sign language! 😀

So...when do you start signing to your child? Which signs should you use? How do you teach the signs? I'll be covering all of these questions over the next couple weeks so make sure to check back in!

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9 Reasons to Teach Sign Language To Your {Hearing} Infant or Toddler - Playing With Words 365

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If you are a parent of a baby or toddler (or currently pregnant) you probably have heard of â€œbaby sign.â€ But what exactly is it and why would you want to use sign language with your child? How? Where and when should you start? This is one of many posts I am writing this month [...]

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Home Basics Benefits Benefits of Baby Sign Language Baby Sign Language has three types of benefits: Practical: less fussing and more fun. Emotional: creates a closer parental bond. Cognitive: boost...