How Long Does a Sign Last?

One of the questions that our Baby Signs® Instructors hear frequently from parents is how long a sign stays in a baby’s repertoire before the word appears. Of course, the answer is that it varies enormously. If the sign is substituting for a relatively easy word like “ball” or “more,” the word may appear relatively quickly. But even then it depends on the sound that the word starts with—“b” and “m” and “d” sounds being considerably earlier to appear than “j” and “l” and “sh” sounds. Of course, if the word is long and complicated, like “hippopotamus” or “alligator,” the sign is likely to stick around longer.

The answer to how long a sign is used also depends on what strategy a child tends to favor. Our government funded research revealed that some children use signs to free them to work on learning words for other things. For example, a baby who has signs for “dog” and “more” may be content to rely on them and make learning the words for “cat” and “all gone” a higher priority. In other words, these babies tend to hold on to their signs for quite a while, using them to increase the number of things they can talk about.

Other babies seem to use signs to speed up learning the word a sign stands for. In these cases, the word appears relatively quickly. The logic lies in the fact that the more frequently a baby uses a sign, the more often adults respond by saying the word, thereby providing more opportunities for the child to learn it.

So, there are lots of answers to the question of how long signs last—especially given that all these strategies can play a role in a single child’s journey from sign to words!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

When to Start Signing

One of the most frequent questions our network of Baby Signs® Instructors hear when they give their Parent Workshops and Sign, Say & Play® classes is “When should we start signing with our baby?” Truth is, there’s no “perfect” time to start signing. Over the years we’ve noticed three different approaches parents take to the issue of when to get started. Each has its own advantages. I will describe all three approaches so you can decide which approach will work best for your family.

Birth – 8 months
Some parents start early – at birth or sometime during the first 8 months. These parents want their babies to get lots of exposure to both signs and words from the very beginning. And they like getting into the habit of signing early on. If you know that you have the patience and the persistence to use signs yourself even though your baby is unlikely to sign back until she’s a bit older, then starting early may be a good choice for you.

8-12 months
Many parents choose to wait until their babies are 8-12 months old to start signing. The advantage of starting during this time period is that babies are closer to the age that they can start using signs themselves (usually around 10-11 months). If you like to see more immediate results, starting during this age range may be best for you.

12+ months
Some parents wait until their babies are 12-18 months old before they start using signs. Even at these later ages most babies still don’t have the words to express all the thoughts they want to share. The advantage of starting during this time is that babies are likely to learn signs more quickly, sometimes within a matter of days. With this approach, however, babies will use their signs for a shorter length of time because signs drop off quickly once babies start using more spoken words.

Finally, is it ever too late to start signing? No, not if a child is still frustrated because he or she can’t say the words needed to communicate important things. In other words, any baby or toddler who shows readiness to communicate, but cannot do so effectively with words, is a candidate for signing, and as a parent, you should not feel that it’s too early or too late to start.


Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis
and
Co-Founder, The Baby Signs® Program

Signs: Here, There, and Everywhere!

Do you remember how, once you were expecting a baby, you began to see pregnant women everywhere? Or, having finally decided to buy a particular car, you started to notice how many like it were already on the road? Where did they all come from? The answer, of course, lies in the heightened awareness that your own situation creates. It’s as though you have special radar unconsciously scanning the environment for the things that are momentarily of special importance to you.

The same thing happens to your baby when she learns a new sign or new word. With a new label at her command, she suddenly sees examples everywhere—even in places that you don’t expect. For example, for 14-monthy-old Eli, the “apple” sign made even a trip to the grocery store a special adventure, what with apples, labels on apple pies and apple juice and even pictures of apples on greeting cards. His mother, like many of us, nad never realized how pervasive apples were in the environment until Eli set about to find them all.

In a similar way, 15-month-old Trina had a love affair with her “bird” sign. Everyone expects to find birds out the window or at the park—but at church? Sure enough, embedded in the stained-glass windows over the altar were not one but two ornamental doves, peace symbols to the congregation but just plain birds to Trina. At least using signs was a quiet way to talk about them!

Like these parents, you’ll find yourself amazed at how vigilant your baby can be. She may be only a baby, but lots of mental activity is happening for her behind the scenes. And each time your baby tells you about something with a sign, she is providing you with a glimpse into all that activity, enabling you to respond appropriately and enthusiastically.

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, PhD.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

The Infant Toolbox Includes A Moral Compass

Some new research in the area of emotional development has come to my attention and has motivated me to take a detour this week away from my usual topic of signing with babies.

There’s no doubt that by the time they are preschoolers, children understand the difference between virtue and evil deeds—as is evident in their appreciation of Cinderella over the Wicked Stepmother and of Little Red Riding Hood over the Big Bad Wolf. But when does this critical distinction hold sway in the minds of little children? Believe it or not, fascinating new research indicates the seeds of distinguishing “good guys” from “bad guys” are there practically from Day 1! Here is just one example from Professor J. Kiley Hamlin’s lab at the University of British Columbia that demonstrates how we know.

Imagine you’re a 4 month old baby watching the following two events:

(1) A puppet is struggling to open the lid of a hinged box and a second puppet joins the effort, helping get the box open.
(2) The first puppet is once again struggling to open the box, but this time a third puppet jumps on top of the lid, pinning it down, thereby hindering the first puppet’s efforts.

Having seen these little events, you are given a choice of which of two puppets you want to look at and hold—the “helper” or the “hinderer.” Even babies as young as 4.5 months strongly (75%-100% of them) prefer the “Helper,” thereby indicating they took into account the goal of the lst puppet and evaluated the intentions of the 2nd and 3rd: they liked the “Helper” and spurned the “Hinderer.” (And don’t worry, the order of events was varied across children and other scenarios were tested as well.)

This is indeed good news! Why? Because it indicates that humans hit the ground running in terms of preferring helping and cooperation over negative behaviors—and that takes some of the burden off of parents. Rather than having to start from scratch getting their child to understand and prefer helping others, they need only to nurture the seeds that are already there. That’s burden enough!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Metaphorically "Speaking"

One of the most creative ways we use language is to point out similarities between things, similarities that strike us as especially informative, beautiful, or even funny. “His face was an open book.” “My love is like a red, red rose.” Such parallels are called metaphors or similes. You may be surprised to learn how early such creative begins—especially when babies know simple signs.

An airplane ride was the occasion for a particularly nice example: Fifteen-month-old Brandon was settling into his seat for his first airplane ride when he looked toward the window and began smacking his lips enthusiastically. “You see a fish?” asked his mom as she followed his gaze. But it was raining quite hard and all she could see was water dripping down the window beside his seat. Nevertheless, Brandon was insistent and continued to sign even more vehemently—fish, fish, FISH! Suddenly the mystery was solved as his mom looked at the window with different eyes. “Oh! I bet you’re telling me it looks like our aquarium at home!” said his mother in amazement. “You’re absolutely right. That’s where fishies live!” Brandon’s response? A big, satisfied grin.

Other babies have shown similar creativity with their signs: 11-month-old Cady calling the broccoli on her plate a “flower,” 18-month-old Elizabeth calling the long-hosed vacuum cleaner an “elephant,” 16-month-old Austin using the “monkey” sign to describe a particularly hairy young man, and 17-month-old Carlos describing a trip through the car wash as “wind” and “rain.”

Using signs, babies continue to teach us a valuable lesson: Bring fresh eyes to even an old place and you may be surprised by what you see!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Going Beyond Single Signs

There’s no doubt that a single sign—such as MORE, for example—conveys important information. But there’s also no denying that the combination MORE + COOKIE is even clearer. Babies seem to know this intuitively; that’s why as soon as they can, they begin stringing two words (or signs!) together and sentences are born.

This important intellectual milestone—the ability to put true words together—typically occurs on average around 20 months, with many babies waiting until their third year. Things happen much earlier, however, with signs. Because signs are easier to learn than words, babies can begin putting them together with each other and with single words as early as 12 months! The most useful signs in this regard are MORE which can be combined with lots of other signs or words (e.g., cookie, milk, book, bubbles, etc.) and ALL GONE which is equally combinable (e.g., with water for down the drain, food words or signs, and even animal signs when animals run or fly away).

Many signing babies, however, don’t stop with just two. Here’s a great illustration: Michelle, mom to toddler twins Jimmie and Julianna (see photo), decided to make a detour from shopping and take the kids for their first trip through the car wash. She thought they might enjoy it. Instead, they began crying hysterically, clearly terrified by the onslaught of water, brushes, and noise. That night when Daddy got home, they immediately told him all about it…with signs: CAR + BATH+ SCARED! For weeks afterward, when they would get in the car they would repeat the same “sentence” just to make sure Mom wouldn’t forget and take them there again!

Yup! Sometimes one word (or sign) alone isn’t nearly enough!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

I'd Love to Meet You!

I’m currently in the midst of preparing for a 2-day, in-person training in Denver on June 24-25. I love these trainings! It’s my chance to share my passion for the Baby Signs® Program “up close and personal” with others who are eager to pass along the good news to families in their own communities. The attendees come from two different groups. One group includes individuals interested in starting their own home businesses by becoming Baby Signs® Independent Certified Instructors. These folks will not only have fun giving classes, but will also have the satisfaction of earning extra income. The other group are representatives from child development related organizations and agencies who want the ability to teach Baby Signs® classes to the clients they serve. We call folks in this latter group “Agency Certified Instructors.”

These trainings always leave me with good memories—and new friends—which is why I look forward to them so much. Here’s an example: One of our attendees—who I will call Joyce—was eager to become an instructor because of her experience with her grandson, Jacob. Unfortunately, Joyce lived some 1500 miles away from Jacob and had only been able to visit right after he was born. Her daughter tried to bridge the gap with a photo of Joyce on his bureau and a routine where he would kiss the photo every night while his mom said “Goodnight Grandma. We LOVE you!”

When Jacob was about 11 months old, Joyce's daughter announced she was going to begin teaching Jacob to communicate with signs. Joyce had never heard of such a thing and was more than a little dubious. (She even admitted at the training that she had been secretly worried that using signs would slow down Jacob learning to talk, an admission which led nicely during the training into my description of our research at UCD proving the opposite is true!).

All her qualms faded away, however, one night when Joyce and her daughter inaugurated their brand new Skype connection. Joyce, of course, was eager to say “Hello” to Jacob. Jacob, always glad to get in front of the computer, cooperated by climbing into his mother’s lap and turning his eyes to the screen to see what fun game was going on. But then, in something of a double-take, his eyes grew wide as he caught sight of Joyce. He then spontaneously leaned forward, kissed the screen, smiled broadly and—much to Joyce and her daughter’s delighted amazement—signed “LOVE” by crossing his hands over his heart!

Jacob and Joyce continued after that night to communicate via Skype, with Jacob using his signs to tell her about his day. But no matter what other amazing things Jacob did with his signing, nothing could top that first memorable moment. And that’s why she was at our training. Why shouldn’t every grandma experience the magic of learning that, although she may be far away, she’s far from forgotten!

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about our upcoming training, just click “Professional Trainings” on our home page. Hope to see you there!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis