Transcript: Signing With Your Baby

The Parent Code
Episode “Signing with your baby”

Announcer: Wouldn’t it be great if our kids came with an instruction manual? Well now you have the parent code.
Parent: If you compare a three-year-old signer, they have the language skills of a four-year-old so they are a year advanced in their speech.
Announcer: In today's episode is there a better way to communicate before your baby learns to talk? The parent code, on babies using sign language.
Tanya Karr: Hello I am Tanya Karr host of the parent code. You know babies can be a lot of fun, especially when they are in a good mood like my friend Grace right here. But boy can they turn on a dime when they get frustrated.
As a parent you wish that you could read your baby's mind, just figure out what is bothering him. Because you know, and he knows the answer is probably pretty simple.
Carrie Flener: My husband and I started experimenting with it when Grace was about six months old and did it for about two months and I was just starting to get frustrated with it and thinking that she was not going to pick up on it. And then she started clapping for more. Instead of throwing little temper tantrums she is able to tell us when she is sleepy or she is hungry.
Tanya Karr: At 16 months old Grace is telling her exactly what is on her mind, long before she other her first word Grace has been communicating with American Sign Language. And ASL is working for all of these kids. From infants to preschoolers, ASL can open up a whole new world. And that is the concept behind signing classes just like this one. Birgit started signing with her son.
Birgit: So when Marvin was half a year old we started signing with him, the basics, the more, the milk the eat signs. And then I started again with my daughter and Marvin consigned to her as well and I told him well it can be your secret language with your little sister. So we were teaching her all of the things.
Tanya Karr: Now you can find all sorts’ types of support materials just like this sign to me card, with more than 50 basic signs for your kids. But experts say start with just three. More, milk, and eat. And while starting at eight months is the norm well the older your child the faster they will learn. These preschoolers are is a huge help to teaching eight-month old Macs who is still not showing signs of cooperating.
Birgit: There are lots of programs out there on TV I have seen, so you should just continue and it is really fun for them.
Tanya Karr: So how do you started? Well check out the Internet in search for baby sign language in your city. You'll find instructors and free support groups nationwide.
Now some critics will tell you that babies that sign will have delayed speech skills. While that is just not true, in fact a new study shows that preschoolers, who sign just like Marvin here, will actually expand their vocabulary. Right Marvin what you think of that? So it kind of proves you're never too old or too young to learn to sign. How do you say bye? Bye, that's it for the parent code we will see you next time.