Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Linda Acredolo,Ph.D., ProfessorEmeritus ofPsychology at theUniversity ofCalifornia atDavis, is aninternationally recognized scholar inthe field of child development. She isa Fellow of both the AmericanPsychological Association and the American PsychologicalSociety and has served as an associate editor of the prestigiousjournal, Child Development. She is also a member ofthe Parents magazine advisory board.

Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus ofPsychology at the California StateUniversity at Stanislaus, has servedas a project director and co-principleinvestigator for severallongitudinal research projectsfunded by the National Institutes ofHealth and the Kellogg Foundation.She currently serves as president ofBaby Signs, Inc., an infant and toddler educational productscompany.

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BABY SIGNS

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

Carlotta was sound asleep when her inner "mommy alarm" went off. Fifteen-month-old Sophia was crying. Hurrying into her daughter's room, Carlotta noticed immediately that Sophia was desperately and repeatedly blowing air through her lips, her sign for hot. "Are you hot, sweetie?" asked Carlotta, surprised because the room was actually quite chilly. When the blowing and crying continued unabated, Carlotta felt Sophia's forehead and discovered the source of her daughter's distress: "Oh, you've got a fever!" Some medicine, water, and lots of cuddles later, Sophia was content to settle back down in her crib.

HAVING A SICK CHILD IS AN UPSETTING AND WORRISOME experience for all parents. Because very young children can't talk, parents often have to resort to guessing what's wrong. Is he teething? Does she have an earache? Is he cold or wet or simply lonely? In this story, Sophia, long before she could say the word hot, was able to tell her mother exactly what she was feeling.

The signs Sophia and hundreds of thousands of other babies around the world are using are based on both extensive child development research and old-fashioned common sense about how babies communicate. All babies learn to wave a hand for bye-bye, shake the head back and forth for no, and nod the head up and down for yes. These conventional gestures are just three examples of the many simple, easy-to-remember signs that babies can learn and use to talk about things in their world that they don't have words for yet. Unfortunately, most parents never appreciate their baby's ability to learn additional signs beyond bye-bye, yes, and no that could help them communicate in ways that otherwise would be impossible until they can speak.

Talking is so easy for adults that we forget how difficult it was to learn. When a baby finally produces a true word, he is demonstrating an impressive degree of mastery over all the large and small body parts necessary to make the particular sounds involved. There's the tongue to place, the lips to form, the vocal chords to control, the breathing to regulate, and much more. The reason for "baby talk"—those difficult-to-decipher words, such as "wawa" for water—is that babies are physically unable to string together necessary sounds in the word but are doing their best to practice. It takes time, often until they are three years old, before they have mastered their vocal chords enough to make them do exactly what they want them to do.

Considering how slowly babies learn even easy words like ball and doggie, let alone difficult words like scared or elephant, many months are lost that could have been spent having rich and rewarding interactions, both for the child and the parent. Thirteen-month-old Jennifer's experience of "reading along" with her father is a wonderful example of the joy that comes from successful communication.

Jennifer loves books. As her dad, Mark, settles on the couch after dinner, she toddles over. Holding her palms together facing up, she opens and closes them, making the sign for book. Mark's immediate, "Oh, OK. Go get a book to read," satisfies her, and she soon returns with her favorite book of animal pictures, cuddles up close, and begins turning the pages. With delight, she looks at a picture, scrapes her fingers across her chest, and looks up with a broad smile at Mark. "Yep, you're right! That's a zebra!" Mark says. The next page brings Jennifer's finger to her nose with an up-down motion and a proud "Yep, that's an elephant!" from Mark. As the pages turn, Jennifer bounces her torso up and down, opens her mouth wide, tilting her head back, and rubs her hands together. Without hesitation Mark acknowledges that in each case she is right again: "That is a kangaroo," "That is a hippopotamus," and "That is water the hippo is swimming in." They continue through the book, pride clearly showing in both their eyes.

It doesn't matter how big or little you are—successful communication with other people makes life better. In fact, for the young, who are dependent on their parents for everything, it can even be the link to their survival and well-being.

Is the Baby Signs Program Good for Babies?

Imagine how frustrating it would be if you were unable to talk and had no way to express your needs, fears, and thoughts about the world. You would feel as if you were locked in solitary confinement. Babies can feel this same way, which is why they so frequently throw tantrums and use whatever means they have—especially pointing and crying—to try to convey what they are thinking and wanting. Daily life with a preverbal baby tests everyone's patience, but more than two decades of research have consistently shown us that the Baby Signs program can make bringing up baby an easier and more fun experience.

What's more, our research has proven that signing is actually good for babies. In a large- scale study funded by the National Institutes of Health, we observed 103 families with eleven-month-old babies for two years. One-third of these families were encouraged to use signs; the other two-thirds were not. Our plan was to compare the groups periodically using standardized verbal language and cognitive tests to see whether the Baby Signs experience was having any significant effects—good, bad, or indifferent.

So what did we find? In a nutshell, the signing babies outperformed the other babies in comparison after comparison. They scored higher in intelligence tests, understood more words, had larger vocabularies, and engaged in more sophisticated play. (For more details about the research, see Appendix B.)

Benefits for You and Your Baby

Most gratifying of all, however, were the ways parents described the experience of using the Baby Signs program. They talked enthusiastically about advantages we were expecting: increased communication, decreased frustration, and an enriched parent-infant bond. However, they also alerted us to many more subtle advantages we hadn't considered, like increased self-confidence and interest in books. Here are some of the benefits of signing revealed in our research, benefits you and your baby can expect to enjoy, too.

Benefit 1: Decreases Tears and Makes Family Life Easier

Signing alleviates frustration and avoids the need for a baby to depend on pointing, crying, or an urgent "Uh! Uh! Uh!" to get a message across. The story of Sophia demonstrated how using signs helped a preverbal baby tell her mother what she was experiencing and what she needed. Parents also find that signing opens a window into their child's mind that profoundly enriches the experience of parenting.

In the following story, the Baby Signs program helped turn one sleepless night into a sublime experience of sharing for a father long before his son had the ability to speak.

Thirteen-month-old Bryce often had difficulty sleeping through the night. One morning just before dawn, he awoke and began to cry. Realizing it was his turn, Bryce's dad, Norm, reluctantly crawled out of bed and went in to comfort Bryce—typically not an easy job. Norm thought a change of scenery might help them both, so he took Bryce out on...