My title should read polar opposite! In fact, when your baby starts to talk, is the perfect time to add more signs, or even start signing if you haven’t yet. There are many benefits to adding signs as baby’s turn talking age.
For starters, even babies that can say a few words, rarely say them clearly, nor do they have a complete vocabulary. It’s tough being a toddler because parents so often misunderstand them. Signing can quickly add many words to a baby’s repertoire, much faster than can be added verbally. Where a baby can be taught a sign in seconds as they near 2-years-of-age, a baby might take weeks to add a word. So as your baby reaches for his verbal explosion, continue to add signs. It’s pretty much a no-brainer.
The research supports brain development right up until age-3. Yes, you’ll have lost a lot of the benefits to signing which you could have enjoyed much sooner, but that doesn’t mean your baby can’t still have a ton of fun learning to sign and at the same time enjoy greater learning opportunities and stimulation. Just like music has been shown to help math skills, signs have been shown to help reading skills. Signing uses both the left side and right side of the brain, this is a huge stimulus and helps your baby make more neural connections. The fact is that any stimulation for your toddler will help, but there are few things you can do so simply as to sign. You need very few resources and you can carry signs around with you wherever you go. There’s no need for flash-cards (unless you want some) and you don’t need electronic devices (think baby IQ courses). Signs go with you everywhere and store easily at hand or in a pocket!
When you mention that you sign to your baby, some people might initially feel sorry for you. When you pry a little bit more, you may find out that it’s because they think that your baby is somehow disabled.
