Luke Covington wants some Cheerios. He can see the plastic container on the shelf, but it’s beyond his reach. Rather than grunting, crying or just pointing at the cluttered shelf in hopes that his mother will figure out what he wants, Luke’s little hands sign the words “eat” and “please.” His mother Marianne quickly rewards his efforts with a handful of crunchy cereal. Luke beams with success. After all, it’s not a bad communication exchange for a one-year-old baby.
  Teaching sign language to babies with normal hearing is a relatively new concept. Parents have always assumed they were forced to wonder what babies were thinking and feeling until they grew old enough to reproduce spoken language. But child development experts have found that beginning at about six to seven months, babies have the intelligence to communicate specific thoughts and needs, and the physical coordination to learn and respond to sign language communication. While their vocal cords may not be mature enough to produce speech, their hands are able to communicate basic thoughts and concepts.
  “Using sign, you can communicate with them at an earlier age,” says Colleen Walsh, a certified speech and language pathologist at St. Joseph Hospital. “The child can get his needs and wants met at sooner, with less frustration.”
  Teaching signs to a baby is not the same as teaching a hearing impaired person. With babies, you’re not trying to teach a complete language. Instead, you’re choosing a few important words that cover some of the day-to-day needs and activities the baby experiences. “You don’t have to go out and buy books and videos,” says Walsh. “Just do whatever gesture comes naturally. Start with the basics—more, eat milk, done—because you’re not trying to set up a whole language. Pick three signs, and do them consistently throughout the day. Whether it’s an official sign or your own variation doesn’t matter.”
  How quickly the child picks up a sign often has to do with his level of motivation. Luke was fascinated on a recent vacation by a relative’s cat, and began using the sign for cat from the first time he saw it. “They’ll pick up the signs you use most,” says Walsh. “And they’ll pick up the ones that mean the most to them. Eventually, they’ll even begin using one to three signs in combinations like ‘more drink please.’”
  Covington started signing with Lucas’ older sister Emma when she was between six and nine months old. “She picked up every sign really quickly, and she started talking very quickly,” she says.
  By eighteen months, Emma was verbally expressing herself so well, she had outgrown the need for signing. The successful experience with her first child led her to introduce sign language to Lucas when he was a baby. “I think Luke’s learned more words because we can talk about things. He’ll hear an airplane or a train or something and he’ll do the sign for it. We’ve communicated without me missing what he was trying to tell me. He picks up words more frequently than if we just spoke them.”
  One of the biggest fears parents have is that introducing sign language will cause their babies to speak later. Nothing could be farther from the truth, says Walsh. “It does not slow them down. It does not inhibit language development. Children who learn sign tend to verbalize earlier, even if they have the signs for the words. It’s a great concern of parents, but learning sign will not slow them down or keep them from learning verbal language. Actually it enhances and starts that connection.”
  While there are a number of sign language for babies books available, both Covington and Walsh agree that the best option for learning sign is by watching someone do it. “A video or class with visual input makes it easier, versus seeing it flat on paper,” says Covington.
  “Sign is such a visual, special thing,” agrees Walsh. “It’s much easier to catch on if you see someone doing it than by looking at an illustration in a book.”
  And the benefits extend even beyond the child’s ability to talk. Older children will still respond to signs. “Just because they stop using signs doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten them,” says Walsh. “You can use them in public, like at church if the child is across the room and you don’t want to shout. Really, it’s a secret bonus.”

Some Sign Language Resources

Baby Signs by Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D, Contemporary Books, 163 pages, $12.95

  Signing for Kids by Mickey Flodin, Berkeley Publishing Group, 142 pages, $11

  My First Book of Sign Language,
  illustrated by Joan Holub, Troll Communications, LLC, $3.50.

  Sign with your Baby Complete Learning Kit (book, video and
  reference guide) by Joseph Garcia, Northlight Communications, $49.95.

Childbirth Classes — Help or Hype?

  While nearly every hospital offers some kind of childbirth class, experts say that not nearly enough moms-to-be take advantage of them. Debby Given, a University Hospital childbirth educator and former labor and delivery nurse believes it may be because many people don’t understand the purpose of childbirth classes.
  “I think a lot of people don’t come to childbirth classes because they think it’s only for natural births,” she says. “There is an education process no matter what, and childbirth classes are a benefit to any expectant parents. They allow people an opportunity to understand what’s going on with their bodies.”
  “I think one of the most helpful things about childbirth classes is that they demystify the process,” says Dr. Lawrence Devoe, Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Georgia. “There’s no snooze button on babies. Having a child is the most altering life event people can go through. Any preparation you can do for that is an investment.”
  Childbirth classes are also a great way for fathers, who aren’t physically experiencing the pregnancy, to begin to grasp the idea of their impending fatherhood. “When fathers are involved, it gives them an opportunity to begin to identify with the baby a little more. Dads have a hard time forming a bond before they can see the baby. It’s a way for them to become involved earlier,” says Given.
  Whether childbirth classes are offered in a hospital setting or privately, most classes cover the stages and physical mechanics of labor, comfort and pain management techniques and medications, what to expect from a hospital stay, postpartum information, and some infant care information.
  “We want to give as much information as possible,” says Given. “An obstetrical buffet. We ask that everybody put everything into an imaginary tote bag. When it comes to labor, pull out of that bag what you choose.
  There are also other people who intentionally choose to remain in the dark about the whole labor and delivery process. “I call that the black box theory of childbirth,” says Dr. Devoe. “They show up clueless, go into a room, something happens, and they leave in a few hours with a souvenir,” he says. “To some people, reading a book and getting knowledge is more anxiety-provoking than staying in the dark.”
  But both Given and Dr. Devoe agree that women who have taken childbirth classes are better prepared for the labor and delivery process. “Women who are well-educated (about the birth process) usually have better satisfaction with the birth experience,” says Given. “The anxiety level is much lower.”
  “Folks that have taken the classes know what to ask,” says Dr. Devoe. “They know what to anticipate, rather than having everything come as a surprise.”