Decreases Tears and Makes Family Life Easier

Signing alleviates frustration and avoids the need for a baby to depend on pointing, crying, or an urgent “Uh! Uh! Uh!” to get a message across. The story of  Sophia demonstrated how using signs helped a preverbal baby tell her mother what she was experiencing and what she needed. Parents also fnd that signing opens a window into their child’s mind that profoundly enriches the experience of parenting. In the following story, the Baby Signs program helped turn one sleepless night into a sublime experience of sharing for a father long before his son had the ability to speak.

Thirteen-month-old Bryce often had difficulty sleeping through the night. One morning just before dawn, he awoke and began to cry. Realizing it was his turn, Bryce’s dad, Norm, reluctantly crawled out of bed and went in to comfort Bryce—typically not an easy job. Norm thought a change of scenery might help them both, so he took Bryce out on the front porch, sat down on the glider, and began to glide back and forth. Just as they

were settling in, Bryce noticed the sun peeking up from the horizon. Still whimpering, he looked at his dad with tear-stained cheeks and flashed his fingers, making the sign for  light. Norm’s heart melted, and he hugged Bryce tightly. “That’s right, Brycie. The sun is coming up and giving us its light.” Norm still remembers this as one of his favorite moments with his son.

Let’s consider what young Sophia, Jennifer, and Bryce have in common. In each case a baby was able to convey a message without words and enjoy the experience of being quickly and accurately understood. Interchanges such as these foster feelings of competence and trust, and mitigate frustration. The result is a warmer, more satisfying relationship between child and adult. It’s a basic fact of human life that when we can communicate with others, we feel more connected. And when that connection, especially between parent and child, yields lots of positive interactions—such as those experienced by these three children—the product is almost inevitably deep feelings of affection and love. Our research has found that using signs decreases tears and tantrums. The reason is not hard to understand.

Unsuccessful communication is often the reason for meltdowns during the “terrible twos” (a period of time that can actually start in the first year and extend into the third). When babies and toddlers are able to communicate their needs, they are much less likely to resort to moaning, crying, and frustrated tantrums to express themselves. No doubt this is partly the reason we found in our research that using the Baby Signs program actually makes family life easier and strengthens a baby’s bond with parents, siblings, grandparents, and caregivers.