Are flashcards a good tool to teach your baby communication?
There are a plethora of baby sign products that exist today, most of which have not been empirically tested for efficacy.
Flash cards employ drills and speed as an instructional method, which is quite contradictory to what we know about language development; that is, language is acquired in context in a naturalistic environment.(1)
On the contrary, YOU, the parent or caregiver can use flashcards to memorize signs. However, flashcards are not an effective teaching tool for your baby. Even still, flash cards are flat and do not provide a complete image of hand shape or hand movement.
Communication with Signs or Gestures is Acquired Naturally
Late-talking children often develop their own sign systems that are understood by their families. These signs and gestures should be encouraged to help reduce the frustration caused by breakdowns in communication.
Better yet, signs should be presented to children to prevent frustration caused by the inability to communicate altogether. BUT NOT WITH FLASHCARDS!
In fact, humans have the innate inclination towards communication and language.
So much so that when deprived of the appropriate language-learning environment, children will develop their own methods of functional communication so long as they are in groups and are not isolated from others with whom they can communicate. This explains the origin of Nicaraguan Sign Language.
The deaf children who had previously been isolated from one another in the 1970s were placed in the same vocational school in the beginning of the 1980s where they came together to develop a very complex, well-defined language that follows the same rules as ancient languages that have been passed down through generations. Of course the language did not originate with said complexity, but over the years the younger speakers broke down gestures or signs representing larger concepts into their smaller counterparts.
The Role of Early Experiences on Later Language and Cognition
Not only do early experiences play a role in later language-processing ability, but also in cognitive aspects of development, including “seeking, noticing, and incorporating new and more complex experiences, as well as schemas for categorizing and thinking about experiences” 2 (pg. 9). Cortical development during infancy is influenced by central nervous system activity that results from experience, or nurture.
Before the onset of spoken language, adults nurture via one-to-one interactions with the baby that dictate his/her “experience” of the world. Again, these experiences are natural and happen in your baby’s naturalistic language learning environment.
Once spoken language emerges, babies have more control over such experiences; however, that control is very much influenced by earlier experiences.(2)
Therefore, by introducing communication during infancy, you are not only promoting child-directed speech/language by adults in your baby’s environment, but you are giving him/her some degree of control over his/her experience of the world.
How does early language experience affect later vocabulary development?
Richer language models evidenced in child-directed speech not only effect expressive vocabulary and word learning, but also critical processing skills that enable learning. (3)
In fact, a follow-up study conducted by Dale Walker found vocabulary use at age 3 to be predictive of language skills and reading comprehension at 9-10 years of age.(2)
Therefore, it is important as a parent to direct speech and gestures towards your baby, as babies tend not to absorb passive language experiences, such as a conversation between adults in their immediate environments or looking at flashcards containing arbitrary symbols, in the same manner that they absorb language directed towards them.
This means that you should spend as much time possible talking TO your baby and gesturing TO your baby. By introducing a child-directed, gestural system like Baby Sign before the onset of spoken language, you are enhancing your baby’s language exposure/experience.
Remember, this is not only important for word learning, but for language-processing overall and, ultimately, for later academic achievement.
Don’t wait another minute to give your baby a head start in achieving academic success!
Sign up for your Baby Sign Online Course, Baby Says More™ Grow n’ Tell, TODAY!
- E.g. Owens (2007) as sited by Seal, B. (2010, November 02). About Baby Signing. The ASHA Leader.
- Hart, B. & Risley, T.R. (2003). The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3. American Educator, Spring 2003, 4-9. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org//sites/default/files/periodicals/TheEarlyCatastrophe.pdf
- Weisleder, A. & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, November 2013 24: 2143-2152.☯
The sign more is a more Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
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The sign more is a more Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
-min.png)
The sign more is a more Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
-min.png)
The sign more is a more Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
-min.png)
The sign more is a more Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.
Baby Says More Grow n’ Tell gives parents the tools to teach their babies how to use signing to communicate before they have the verbal ability to speak.Put an end to your constant fear of the unknown by teaching your baby to make his/her wants and needs known!Baby Sign Language is a form of basic gestural, or visual, communication that can be taught to a baby before the onset of spoken language. It is easy to integrate into your daily routines with no extra time required.We provide a free demo so you can see how easy, fun and stress relieving signing can be.