Not only is the inability of babies to communicate very frustrating to parents, it also leads them to assume that their babies are not thinking about things, are not aware of what is happening around them. As we describe in our second book, Baby Minds, an enormous amount of cognitive activity is actually going on in their little heads, even at birth.
Certainly, by the time they are nine to twelve months old, babies are simply bursting with things to talk about, but they generally have to wait until eighteen months to two years for the words that enable them to do so. That’s why, once they start using signs with their children, parents are amazed at how much their babies notice, understand, and remember about the world.
The three real-life stories we have described provide good examples of how much smarter babies are than we often assume. Sophia, Jennifer, and Bryce may not have been talking yet, but they knew quite well what they wanted to say, and with the Baby Signs
program they could say it. At the same time, those around them got a wonderful glimpse into just how much was going on in their heads. Sophia was able to tell her mom she had a fever, Jennifer was able to demonstrate an impressive grasp of the animal kingdom, and Bryce was able to help his father appreciate the specialness of an otherwise frustrating moment. Unlike most parents, who have to guess what their babies are thinking, the parents of Sophia, Jennifer, and Bryce could easily follow their children’s lead, focusing attention where the babies most needed it to be. With a window into their baby’s mind they otherwise would not have, parents of signing babies learn a valuable lesson: there truly is “somebody home in there.”
