Communication from the Cradle

VERY often, a baby learns to communicate even before it learns to talk—whether it is letting mommy know that she is hungry by pumping h...

VERY often, a baby learns to communicate even before it learns to talk—whether it is letting mommy know that she is hungry by pumping her fingers against her palm or asking for a ball or a stuffed toy—all without saying a word. In fact, some parents teach their babies these gestures. But why teach signs to a baby who is not deaf?

Dr Elizabeth Bates, one of the leading researchers in the field and the director of the Center for Research in Language at the University of California, San Diego, said, ‘‘It has to do with how easily one can imitate and reproduce something with a big fat hand as opposed to the mini, delicate hundreds of muscles that control the tongue.’’

Teaching simple gestures to babies before they can talk is a way to jump-start the language and communication process, and stimulate intellectual development. It can also confer other related benefits, including increased vocabulary, a deeper parent-child bond, enhanced self-esteem and decreased tantrums, proponents say.

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Recent research by child development experts showed that second-graders who had been encouraged to use the sign system during the second year of life had an advantage of 12 IQ points over children who did not use any such system.

Joseph Garcia, an American sign language and early child development researcher, noticed that the hearing babies of deaf parents could communicate their needs and desires at a much earlier age than children of hearing parents. His research found that through signs, parent-infant communication could begin at eight months, rather than waiting for comprehensible speech to develop at 16 to 18 months.

In an era of competitive pre-school admissions tests, not surprisingly, this research has set off a boom in demand for classes, books and videos on the subject.

The New York Times News Service

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