Communication is only 7% verbal.

It’s been said that teaching sign language to infants facilitates communication between parents and their children. Learning sign language aids in speech development, so that baby signers speak earlier than babies who do not learn sign language. Sign language also allows babies to communicate their needs before they are physically capable of verbalizing them.

So when my Mom told me about a baby sign language workshop being held at the library, I had to go. My Mom and I sat on the floor in a circle of interested parents (most of whom already had children) and practiced some of the signs that will be most helpful with my daughter: “more”, “milk”, “mom”, “dad”, “want”, and “wait”, among others.

Undoubtedly, knowing signs like “milk” and “more” will help to ease frustrations and help us to meet the needs of our daughter better. I look forward to practicing these signs so that, by this coming Christmas, our daughter will be able to tell us whether her diaper is dirty or if she’s still hungry. I can only imagine how helpful it will be!