Have you ever wondered what’s going on in your little one’s
head? Or said to yourself when they were crying “I only wish they could talk
and tell me what’s wrong”? So have we... that’s why we were delighted to hear
about Sign 2 Music.
Sign 2 Music is a fascinating concept based around British
Sign Language (BSL) which teaches your baby basic signs through song and rhyme.
When we first mentioned to family and friends that we were doing Sign 2 Music
with Starfish and we described it as Baby sign language; the first response was
usually “But he’s not deaf” and next came “Won’t that delay his speech”.
I’d done my research however (as I have painstakingly before
every parenting decision we’ve made so far) and I was confident that it was
something that would improve and encourage Starfish’s communication skills
rather than delay them.
A number of doctors in USA began research as far back as
1970 when they found that children of hearing impaired parents could
communicate their needs and desires at a much younger age than children of
hearing parents. The difference here was the exposure to signing so they began
to explore the impact of signing to hearing babies of hearing parents. Studies
showed that babies exposed to signs at 6-7 months old began to communicate at
8-9 months old but at this point they lack the physical ability to speak,
tongue, mouth and jaw muscle control. Signing improves this and has also been
proven to give babies a more sophisticated grasp of language than their peers.
Another study showed that on average signing babies had a
higher I.Q (as much as 12 points) and a greater interest in books. Signing
children are also proven to have a wider vocabulary than non signers; this is
thought to be because words are presented verbally and visually at the same
time.
I’ve seen so many babies and toddlers have tantrums and get
frustrated trying to communicate when adults don’t have a clue what they are
trying to say, I’ve actually been the clueless adult on more than one occasion!
This can be heart wrenching for both the child and the adult.
We didn’t need any further convincing; we made enquiries
about classes straight away!
So that’s the science, how does it work in practice?
As Starfish was still quite young, I was delighted when we
contacted Roberta and she said we could have a private course in our own home.
Roberta arrived with her trusty assistants Signing Sandy and
Daisy Doggy (signing puppets), shakers and Sandy’s little bag of sign cards.
The first lesson we learned essential signs like Baby, Milk,
Food, Drink Change Nappy, Change, Help, More and Bath. Next we learned family
signs, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Granny etc
All this learning happened to songs (and yes we did have to
sing along) while Starfish looked at us like we had lost the plot.
Daisy Doggy was a huge hit `however and he even had a brief
go at one of the shakers.
The key to success with signing, as with all child
development; is consistency and routine. From day 1 of the course, we started
using the signs for milk, help and nappy change. We say “let me help you” while signing help.
Then “nappy time” with the sign for change nappy and “milk time” with the sign
before each feed.
Starfish watched our hands move with interest and waited for
what came next. Within just a few days he obviously started to recognise what
the signs meant along with the words we said. For example, if he needed a feed
and I said “milk time” or “food time” with the signs he would be calm while I
prepared us both for the feed.
Over the next few sessions we learned meal time signs
including “more” “full up” and various different food signs, signs for
emotions, sad, happy, worried, angry, morning and night time routine signs such
as “sleep”, “bed” “get dressed” “bath” etc. We also learned animal signs and
many more such as “which”, “where”, “hot” and “cold”
All this happened through song, most of which were popular
nursery rhymes or to the same tune as popular children’s songs. Starfish’s
favourites are Baa Baa Black Sheep and Miss Polly had a Dolly.
After the second session, not only was Starfish watching our
hands intently when we signed but he had started wiggling his own little
fingers as if he was trying to copy us! He hasn’t yet managed his first sign
himself but I’ve no doubt it’s not far away. He definitely understands the
basic signs now and knows what to expect when he sees them.
Now that we are embarking on our weaning journey we have
plenty of opportunity to introduce more signs and words to Starfish which I
know he will enjoy.
Santa even brought Starfish his very own Daisy Doggy and
Sign 2 Music CD which he absolutely loves
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| Daisy Doggy |
The Sign 2 music classes are great fun for parent and baby
alike and can be taken in a group setting or on a one to one basis. They are a
great value for money and a very worthwhile investment in your family’s future.
Not least for the time you could save by mot having to ask your child to repeat
themselves 20 times before you finally figure out what they’re trying to say or
the money spent on hair dye to cover the grey of sheer frustration.
If you want to know more about Sign 2 Music or to enrol in a
class in your area visit http://www.sign2music.co.uk/
or find them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sign2music1
or Twitter https://twitter.com/sign2music
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