"Signs" of Christmas

What the holidays mean for me is the opportunity to get together with family and friends to reminisce about times past and to make good memories for the future. In our family this year, these celebrations are made even sweeter by the addition of our twin grandchildren who still have stars in their eyes when they see holiday sights or hear holiday sounds. Seeing their joy can make even the most reluctant “Scrooge” smile.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if these special little people could tell us more about what they are thinking—what is fascinating them as they gaze at a decorated tree or blazing candle? Well now they can! The secret is one that more and more families are discovering: helping babies and toddlers communicate using simple baby sign language signs. In fact, around this time of year we hear wonderful stories of how children who can’t yet talk are still able to tell their parents what they see, what they hear, and even what they feel as they encounter holiday symbols. Here are just a few examples from our Baby Signs® files:

• 13-month-old Jared was mesmerized when his father first plugged in the string of lights wound around the Christmas tree, immediately opening and closing his fist (his sign for “light”) over and over as he grinned from ear to ear. For the next 3 weeks, as soon as he woke up in the morning, he would eagerly sign “light,” clearly sending the message that he remembered what was in the living room.

• 15-month-old Maddy had been pretty leery of the bearded man in the bright red suit inviting her to sit on his lap in the department store and had cried until her mother sat with her. From then on, whenever she saw a picture of Santa Claus she would rapidly pat her chest (her sign for “afraid”) and then move her open hands up and down her chest (her sign for “clothes”). Why “clothes?” Maddy’s mom quickly figured it out: “Clothes” was as close to “Claus” as Maddy could get!

• And on a personal note, upon walking into our house this past Saturday, my 18-month-old grandson, Nate, saw the eagle sitting atop our tree (a souvenir from a trip to Alaska) and, with his eyes as big as saucers, eagerly signed BIRD + TREE--his first sentence!
  

With simple signs, these babies, and thousands like them, are making sweet, new holiday memories for their families---and the truth is, what better holiday present could parents receive than a priceless window into their baby’s mind and heart?

Merry Christmas--and Happy Signing!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

How Signs Help Keep Mom #1

In a recent post I described how young moms often worry about being usurped in their child’s mind and heart by a loving child care provider—be it a nanny or a child care center staff member. I provided some tips for dealing with this worry by creating fun routines that are mommy- or daddy-only routines that the child can look forward to and which other caregivers are unlikely to be able to duplicate. At the end of that posting I promised another tip. Here it is: Sign with your baby!

There are many reasons to sign with your baby, but here’s one that fits working moms and dads especially well. Young children, just like the rest of us, are typically at their most irritable at the end of the day. It’s a time when it’s easy to become frustrated when things don’t go exactly right—for example, like not being understood when one needs or wants something. Unfortunately, dinner times are also some of the main times that moms and dads who work outside the home have to spend with their children. What a shame for these precious hours to be spent trying to deal with frayed nerves.

Such situations are particularly likely to arise for babies and toddlers who lack the words to communicate their needs clearly. That’s where signs come in. By enabling preverbal children to make clear what it is they need, want, or feel, signs decrease everyone’s frustration, thereby making it more likely that the few precious hours a working mom has to spend to with her child will go smoothly and end with love and kisses instead of tears and tantrums.

I’ve seen this up close and personal, as they say, with my 18-month-old twin grandchildren. I filled in for a sick nanny last week and was there when mom and dad returned from work. The twins were very hungry. (I’d not known what snacks they were allowed and so probably was guilty of starving them!). Following the initial hugs and reunion kisses, they both began making the eat sign insistently. Mom knew immediately what they needed and, instead of making them wait until dinner was actually ready, sat them down with some pieces of grapes, pears, and cheese. No tears, no trauma, just smiles all around! That’s the magic of signs!

Happy Signing!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program