I was really excited to see this recent study come out, proving even more of what I have advocated for so long. Conducted by the University of Chicago this study found that the more gestures used between babies and their parents at 14 months was linked to a larger vocabulary by age three.

One of the most common concerns I am faced with as a Baby Signs teacher is "I've heard it could delay my child's speech." Now I know from personal experience with my own children and many others that this is hardly the case, exactly the opposite in fact. But promises from a teacher you just met doesn't make everyone feel better. So I refer to scientific studies like this one or the one done by Drs. Linda Acredelo and Susan Goodwyn (founders of the Baby Signs Program). Sign Language actually helps babies talk sooner! Fostering an early love of language gives them an amazing vocabulary at a young age as well. Many parents don't realize that the "normal" age range for a child to start speaking is a very large range (from about 1-3 years). Just because a child is on the older end of this range does not mean they are delayed!

I used Sign Language with all of my kids. My oldest started talking around 16 months, my second around 24 months and my youngest is well on his way at 14 months.

Babies who learn to sign do not decide not to speak and rely only on signs because they can talk through sign. Compare it to crawling before walking. They don't stop at crawling. They realize that they can move around and so they build up the skills to be mobile on the next level and begin walking, eventually leaving crawling behind. The same goes for signing. Babies don't have the physical ability to vocalize the words they need to communicate at such a young age, but they can make movements with their hands and make faces to show how they feel or what they see. Once they realize they can communicate they begin learning more and more words and practicing the next step, vocalizing those words. Once they have the ability to speak they eventually leave the signs behind.

The only thing that might make the above two myths become true is if the parent does not speak the word while using the sign. This is a very important point stressed in the Baby Signs Program. Baby has to hear the word as well to be able to speak it!

Many people think teaching babies to sign is a big new "fad"..... all the cool parents are doing it. It's not at all! Parents have taught their babies to wave "bye-bye", shake their head "no", shiver to show something is cold. All of these things are signs, the Baby Signs Program is just expanding the vocabulary.

Some parents think it takes too much time to teach a baby sign language. Not true! Signs fit into anyone's daily routine. There is no need to sit and do flash cards, just go about your daily business. Pick a few signs that you know you will be able to use with your specific routine, who doesn't "eat" at some point right?! Or "drink"? I don't know about you, but I try and give my kids a "bath" every now and again :)

Teaching babies to sign has so many extrordinary benefits! I hate to see people get caught up in the myths of it all and not look further. Teaching my kids to sign has been one of the best decisions I've made as a parent. It's me giving them the best chance for success in life (babies who were taught to sign scored on average 12 points higher on an IQ test at age eight), and isn't that what every parent wants to do?

Visit http://www.babysignsprogram.com/withelizabeth/