Baby sign language is the means of communicating with babies or toddlers by way of using hand gestures, facial expressions, simple words, symbols and/ or signs, so as to understand their wants and needs. Originated by the concept of sign language (used mainly for communication among and within those who have hearing disabilities), baby sign language is gaining greater popularity and acceptance of late.
You might wonder as to why baby sign language has gained such prominence today. The reason for this is because there are numerous benefits that parents as well as kids could gain from baby sign language. However, it is believed to have some limitations too. This article is aimed at highlighting the pros and cons of baby sign language.
When talking about the advantages, there are plenty of them. To start with, the main advantage of baby sign language is it increases communication between the parent and the kid. This means that there will be greater interaction between you and your child, since you can understand each other well.
Due to the above factor, there will be a greater bonding between the toddler and the parents, since the child’s needs are understood and the child knows that his/ her needs are known by the parents and in turn, these needs are met and satisfied by the parents accurately.
Another advantage of baby sign language is that the baby feels happy, strong and relaxed since he/ she knows that the parent understands his/ her feelings. A happy and strong baby is what all parents would love to have.
Not only that, when baby sign language is used, you are not only using bits of words, but would also be using signs and symbols. The child would be able to pick and understand these symbols, and hence their motor skills would develop to a grater extent, thus resulting in their IQ level going up. Studies have shown and proven that kids who use sign language are more intelligent, when compared to their non-using counterparts.
With the increased use of sign language, the baby would be more interactive, as said earlier. This simply means that a baby would be more communicative, compared to others who do not use sign language. Hence, a baby who uses signs would be friendlier and socially active.
However, there are a few disadvantages of baby sign language. One main disadvantage is that some children are less reactive and correspond less when they are small. They would look weak by their outer appearance and behavior, but in the inside they may be very healthy. However, parents of such children might panic and worry to see the lazy, non-reactive behavior of the child and they might try hard to communicate with the kid using sign language. This could pose greater pressure on the baby, thus affecting his/ her mental status. In other words, there would be a huge psychological effect on the child’s future behavior.
Another disadvantage believed to be due to the use of sign language is that babies would interact less in speech. In other words, the child would use fewer words and more gestures when talking. This is a false belief feared by most people.
Overall, sign language is believed to be worthy due to its many advantages. So it is recommended that parents use baby sign language to communicate and interact with their babies.