My son uses signs without words, is this a problem?
This depends on his age. If he’s still isn’t speaking and you think he should, you might want to consult a speech and language pathologist. If you’ve already talked to a specialist and can rule this out, then just relax, your baby just really likes to sign. Over time he’ll grow out of signing. Just keep in mind that your baby will speak just as soon as he’s ready and not a moment sooner. Remember, after all, that your baby is in charge!
We speak two languages in the house, will my baby be confused?
Studies show that children who grow up in houses where there is more than one language being spoken tend to pick things up a little bit slower than children in a one language household, but this is not to be of concern since learning multiple languages is a wonderful opportunity. What you might consider is only signing with one language instead of trying to sign with both. This will keep the confusion down and help your baby bridge the gap between both languages. Just remember that your baby has a powerful ability to decipher patterns, and with enough time will figure it all out!
Do girls sign more than boys?
As near as I can tell no specific study has shown anything conclusive with respect to signing and gender. It is general knowledge that girls tend to be more advanced speakers than boys, but of course there are exceptions to all rules! Babies of either sex who are talked to more often do tend to pick up language faster than ones who are rarely talked to, and babies who are signed to, tend to have parents who also talk and interact with their little boys and girls more. This helps bring them forward and strengthen their inherent skills when compared to non-signers.
Do babies sign to each other?
It turns out that babies tend not to sign very often with each other preferring to “parallel play” instead. Parallel play means they will participate in activities alongside each other, but not directly with each other. It just so happens that toddlers and babies would much rather interact with adults than with their peers. This is likely nature’s way of helping children learn at a more accelerated rate. You can certainly imagine that an adult is a better teacher than a toddler! However, babies and toddlers will still sign with each other, just not as often as with parents. You might be amazed to see your little signer use SHARE, MORE and even PLEASE and THANK YOU with other babies and toddlers!