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Did you know that your baby can communicate with you before it can talk?
Denise Jenkins, 75th Force Support Squadron Family Child Care Training and Curriculum specialist, held a class Oct. 27 teaching parents how it is possible.
"This particular class is a way of teaching young toddlers to 'speak before they speak' using baby sign language," Jenkins said about the Baby Signs introductory workshop. "It is amazing to see these young toddlers use these baby signs to communicate with their parents at such a young age."
The training is part of the Air Force's ongoing program, the Year of the Air Force Family, which highlights the many morale programs already in place for families and single Airmen and informs them of the development of new programs, unveiling them from now until the end of the designated time period, July 2010.
"We are offering a variety of free classes (like this one) throughout the year for Air Force families," Jenkins said.
The Baby Signs workshop is part of a training program Jenkins attended two years ago hosted by the Baby Signs Institute, which partnered with the Department of Defense to educate its childcare providers with this helpful tool. The sign language program was started by child development experts specifically for hearing babies to use developmentally-appropriate hand and body gestures to communicate their needs to their providers.
Off base, the same class that was offered free of charge Tuesday night would normally cost around $50-$60 per participant. Jenkins has offered these classes without charge two times per year for the past two years to all parents of Hill Air Force Base.
Participants who took the class Tuesday night received a Baby Signs Parent Kit that included a parent guide, instructional DVDs and a flip book of common signs to use with a baby for quick reference. Attendees also saw a table display of other products available through the Baby Signs Institute that facilitate early communication with babies.
In addition to gaining the ability to communicate with non-verbal babies, recent studies have proven that consistent use of sign language in young babies results in more advanced verbal development when the toddler begins to speak. The National Institutes of Health revealed in a longitudinal study that 24-month-old signing babies were on average talking more like 27- or 28-month-olds, representing more than a three-month advantage over the non-signers.
This developmental tool has been used with children in child care facilities at Hill AFB for the past two years.
"We have several family child care providers that use sign language with their young toddlers. Also, our Child Development Center uses baby sign language as well," Jenkins reported.
Dee Hanner, an employee of the Ogden Air Logistics Center Plans and Programs Directorate, attended Tuesday night's class with her daughter, Deanna Sherrod, to learn more signs to use with Hanner's five grandchildren. Hanner first learned about baby sign language with her first grandson, whose mother taught him five basic signs which he used until he began talking.
Sherrod became interested in learning more about baby sign language when her 14-month-old daughter started using it. "The few signs she was taught cut down on her frustration level. When she wanted something, she didn't know how to ask for it before. Now she knows how to ask for it and say 'Thank you.'"
Hanner added that she noticed her grandchildren received more attention and praise after using baby sign language. "They are told 'you're so smart' more often and the adults pay more attention to them."
Sherrod said she was reluctant to learn more about baby sign language for a while because she thought it would take a lot of time and patience to learn. "It's not about patience, though; it's just about persistence. You have to be consistent about using signs when talking to your baby."
Sherrod and Hanner took the class Tuesday night so that they could use baby sign language more consistently with Sherrod's new seven-week-old baby.
The next Baby Signs introductory workshop will be offered in March 2010. To request more information about this class, contact Jenkins at (801) 777-0695.
For more about the Baby Signs program, visit twww.babysigns.com.
