FAQ

Below I’ve answered some of the most common questions about baby sign language and my courses. I’m so enthusiastic about baby signing that I tend to ramble on a bit 😅 But if there’s still something you’re wondering about, you’re very welcome to send me a message through the Contact page.

1. What is baby sign language?

Baby sign language consists of simple signs that you use while talking to your baby. For example, when you give your baby milk, you might ask, “Would you like some milk?” while using the sign for milk.

If you use the sign consistently each time your baby gets milk, your baby will gradually make the connection. When their body and motor skills are ready, they will be able to use the sign themselves and tell you that they are hungry and want some milk.

The reason this is possible is because babies are able to control their hands and movements long before they are able to control their mouth, tongue, vocal cords and so on. It’s a complex combination of skills needed to be able to create a word!

It’s important to remember that baby sign language is used together with speech. Your baby will hear the words at the same time as they see the signs. The signs are simply a temporary bridge to speech.

Using signs alongside spoken words can also support your baby’s developing communication and language skills.

2. Why should I use baby signs, what are the benefits?

The best way for me to answer this question is by giving you an example of a conversation I had with my Robin, when he was just 15 months old. This was one of the many wonderful conversations I had with him before he could talk with words.

This cute conversation illustrates perfectly what the benefits of baby sign language are and why I love using signs with babies.

 1) Robin was able to communicate to me what he wanted (cheese) and didn’t have to get frustrated by me trying to feed him a banana or some porridge or even completely misunderstanding and bouncing him on my lap singing songs trying to cheer him up.

 2) Signing enabled Robin to share his world with me. He told me what he fancied (cheese), what he found interesting (cold cheese), different (stripy cheese) and funny (hiding cheese).

 3) Robin and I felt a magical bond, we could understand each other and we could share a joke.

 4) Being able to make himself understood helped build Robin’s self-esteem and self-confidence.

 5) His signing “pulled” more verbal language from me. I explained why the cheese was cold and why the cheese was stripy. The signs gave me more opportunities to talk, explain and introduce new words.

 6) The joy of making himself understood encouraged him to communicate even more. The signs weren’t replacing speech – they were another step along the road towards words.

Think how few words a typical 15-month-old baby can say. Maybe they haven´t even said their first word at this point. Even though they are so young, they are so observant, they notice and remember so much, they are curious about the world around them and they already have lots of humour and personality.

They´re able to express all of this with signs. Ingenious is the only word for it!

Benefits of baby signing

To sum up the benefits, they can be put in three categories – practical, emotional and language and communication benefits:

Practical:

1) Helps your baby communicate before they’ve mastered words
2) Reduces frustration for both your baby and you as parents

Emotional:

1) Opens a window to your child’s heart and mind
2) Strengthens the bond between you and your baby
3) Being understood can boost your baby’s self-esteem and self-confidence

Language and communication:

1) Gives babies another way to communicate before spoken words are available
2) Encourages lots of interaction between baby and parent
3) Supports early communication and language learning by pairing signs with spoken words
4) Does not delay spoken language – and some research suggests it may even help facilitate it

See below for more about the research into baby signing and language development.

3. What does research say about signing?

Research into baby signing has produced some really interesting results.

One well-known study by Susan Goodwyn, Linda Acredolo and Catherine Brown found that children who were encouraged to use symbolic gestures alongside spoken language showed advantages on the vast majority of measures of early language development compared with children in the non-intervention group.

Among the findings from this and related research were that children using signs could:

• communicate earlier and more clearly with their parents and caregivers
• show advantages in some areas of early vocabulary and language development
• use some more advanced forms of spoken language earlier

The researchers concluded that using signs alongside speech did not hamper verbal development and may even help facilitate it.

A later follow-up of children from the same research also found higher scores on an IQ test at age eight among children who had previously been encouraged to use symbolic gestures. This is a fascinating finding, although it came from one follow-up study, so it shouldn’t be taken to mean that baby signing has been proven to increase a child’s IQ.

Later research hasn’t always found the same language advantages, so we can’t say for certain that baby signing will make a child talk earlier or develop a larger vocabulary. What is reassuring is that research has found no evidence that using baby signs alongside speech delays or interferes with normal language development.

For me, one of the most wonderful benefits of baby signing is much simpler: it gives babies another way to communicate during that amazing period when they understand and have so much to say, but don’t yet have all the spoken words they need.

* Sources: “Mine tegn i barnehagen” – Arlene Temte & Monica Ingemarsson (2013). Research results released by the “National Institutes of Health” in the USA – Linda Arcredolo & Susan Goodwyn.

Here are some more good research papers available to read online:
https://www.signingtime.com/wp content/uploads/2019/06/ wp_SigningwithBabiesChildren.pdf

Susan Goodwyn, Linda Acredolo, and Catherine Brown (2000). Impact of symbolic gesturing on early language development. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 24 (2), pp. 81-103. Available online.

Acredolo, L. P., & Goodwyn, S.W. (July 2000). The long-term impact of symbolic gesturing during infancy on IQ at age 8. Paper presented at the meetings of the International Society for Infant Studies, Brighton, UK. Available online.

Brie Moore, Linda Acredolo, & Susan Goodwyn (April 2001). Symbolic gesturing and joint attention: Partners in facilitating verbal development. Paper presented at the Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development. Available online.

4. I’ve already starting using signs with my baby, but I’m not sure if they are the same signs as you use in your classes. Will this be a problem?

Sign language and baby sign language vary from country to country. There are also variations within sign language in the same country, just as we have different dialects in spoken language.

It’s not a problem if the signs you’ve been using are different from mine. You can follow along with “my” signs while we sing the songs in class. At home, you can continue using the signs you’ve already started with, as it’s important to be consistent.

5. Is learning baby sign language complicated for me as a parent and
will it take a lot of work?

No, baby sign language is not complicated at all.

Parents, without thinking, already teach their babies several simple signs and gestures, like clapping to express delight, pointing, shaking their heads for no, and waving hello and goodbye.

If we just expand this repertoire a bit, we can also teach our babies to tell us if they are hungry, thirsty or tired, or if they can’t find their teddy. If we expand the repertoire a little more, we can even begin to have little two-way conversations with our babies.

Parenting can be rather overwhelming as there never seems to be enough time. That’s why learning baby signs the Tegn og Trall way is such a good idea!

The learning is hidden in silly, catchy songs. You sit together on the mat, having fun with your little one amongst other like-minded parents and wiggly babies. Or, if you choose the net course, you can learn in the comfort of your own living room, preferably with a cup of coffee within reach. ☕️

Because the signs are simple and the songs are fun, you practically learn without even noticing.

However, teaching the signs to your baby does take a bit of work. You need to be consistent and repeat the signs often. But don’t worry – Mia and I will help you along the way, and that’s exactly why Tegn og Trall is a 10-week course.

You’ll also get support and reminders through the closed Facebook group and the net course. During the course, signing will gradually become a natural part of the communication between you and your baby.

And then comes the really exciting part: your baby starts signing back!

So yes, success with baby signs does demand a bit of work, but it’s fun work – and definitely a brilliant investment! The first time your baby signs back to you, I promise you’ll be amazed. And it will motivate you to use even more signs!

6. When should I start teaching my baby baby signs?

It’s up to you. Find what suits you and your family best.

Some parents begin as soon as their baby is born, just to get into the habit. The baby will probably not be interested in what mummy and daddy are showing with their hands yet. But it’s the same with spoken language: we talk to babies from day one – and often before they’re born – even though we don’t expect them to answer!

Babies can begin to understand and respond to signs from around four months old. You might notice this when they look in the direction of something you’ve said and signed: “Where’s your teddy?” – and baby looks over at their teddy.

Or perhaps they get really excited and start licking their lips when you ask, “Do you want milk?”

I think this is a lovely time to start, as babies are now more alert and interested in the world around them.

Understanding the signs is an important step along the way. However, babies usually won’t be able to make signs themselves until six or seven months at the earliest – and it’s completely normal for this to happen later.

If you start signing this early, it’s important to remember that it can be quite a while before your efforts are rewarded, so don’t lose motivation or give up! Keep using the signs and your baby will start signing when they’re ready.

If you start using signs when your baby is nine or ten months old, or later, your baby will have more control over their body and hands and a better understanding of the world around them, so you may see results quite quickly.

If possible, it can be nice to start at least by around nine or ten months old. It’s absolutely fine to start later too, but you may miss out on some of those magical months when your baby can communicate with signs before the words arrive.

But it’s definitely better late than never! It’s only too late when your child is talking fluently and clearly.

Basically, start whenever you feel motivated. The important thing is to be consistent and not give up. Parents who don’t have success with baby signing have often simply given up a little too soon.

7. Will baby signing make my baby lazy about talking?

No – in fact, the opposite is often true!

When babies experience the joy of being able to make themselves understood with signs, they often become even more motivated to communicate. The signs don’t replace spoken language – they become a natural step towards words.

A long-term Baby Signs® study funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of California found that using signs alongside speech did not delay spoken-language development, and some findings suggested that it may help facilitate it.

Here’s what some Tegn og Trall parents said when asked whether baby signing had slowed down their child’s spoken-language development:

8. We are a bilingual/trilingual family. Won’t baby sign language just be yet another thing to learn – and could it confuse my child?

No – quite the opposite. Baby signs can actually make it easier for your child to understand the different languages.

The signs act as a bridge between the different spoken languages. Your baby sees one sign – for example the bird sign – but hears that the same bird can be called different things by different people, for example “bird”, “fugl” or “ptáček”.

This can make it easier for your baby to connect the object or action with its meaning, even though the spoken words are different: “Let’s wash your hands”, “Vi må vaske hendene” or “Umyjeme si ruce”.

I have personal experience with this, as we are actually a trilingual family. I speak English with my children, they hear and use Norwegian in nursery and school, and speak Czech with their daddy.

Several people told me that my kids would probably be later in talking because they were being exposed to three languages, but I found that this wasn’t the case. None of them were later in communicating with words than other children their age – if anything, quite the opposite.

9. When do you advise my baby and me to start Tegn og Trall?

Around four months old is a lovely time to start Tegn og Trall.

Babies are more alert to the world around them at this age, and they are also beginning to grasp and hold things in their hands. Very useful for our music-making – even though most of the smaller babies’ maracas end up in their mouths!

If you start early – at four, five or six months – you as a parent can get a lot out of the course. Your baby probably hasn’t started crawling yet, so you have a better chance of following everything I say and show.

Your baby will still enjoy wiggling on the mat, listening to the music and watching the other babies and parents.

If your baby is a little older and has started moving around more, they’ll have great fun crawling around and exploring, discovering the toys, listening to the songs and shaking the maracas.

It’s exciting to pull things out of the surprise bag each week. The babies also become very fond of Mia Mjau and giggle when she disappears and suddenly pops up again.

As a parent, you may have a little more to keep an eye on once your baby starts crawling around – for example, making sure your little explorer doesn’t stick a finger up another baby’s nose! 😂

But it’s no disaster if you miss some of what I say during class. Everything is written in the closed Facebook group, and you also get access to the net course, so you can watch the content at home whenever it suits you.

One lovely thing about starting early – around four to six months – is that your baby can really grow with Tegn og Trall. As the weeks go by, they become more active and begin to recognise the songs, Mia and me – and it’s lovely to see how their experience of the classes changes as they grow.

And it doesn’t have to end after Course 1! Lots of families enjoy repeating Course 1, as their babies get more and more out of the familiar songs and activities. Or, if there’s enough interest, you can move on to Course 2, with new songs, signs and themes such as potty time, nursery, zoo animals and the rainbow – as well as my personal favourite, the silly tidying song.

As the courses are held on Sundays, you can also continue coming to Tegn og Trall after your parental leave has finished and your baby has started nursery.

Most babies who start Tegn og Trall are between about four months and a little over one year old, but there really isn’t a strict upper age limit. Older “babies” are of course very welcome too!

10. My baby will only be three months old when the course starts. Is that too young to join?

I have had several babies who were only three months old when the course began, and they enjoyed it too.

Even though they maybe haven’t been able to hold the maracas yet or pick anything out of the surprise bag, they’ve still enjoyed the music, the singing and the other babies.

The parents have also been able to follow everything I’ve said and shown, because their baby has been lying peacefully on their lap or on the mat.

Just two or three weeks later, the baby is often already able to take a more active part in the class – holding the maracas and paying more attention to what is happening around them.

As babies can begin to understand signs from around four months old, this can be a lovely time to introduce them to baby signs. If you feel your baby isn’t quite ready yet, you can still learn the basics and start using the signs when the time feels right for you.

The social side of getting out and meeting other parents can also be really important for your own well-being, which is good for your baby too.

So if there are three months or more until the next course starts and that feels like a long time to wait, you might as well give it a go! You’ll learn something really useful, enjoy a cosy musical time with your baby and have a natter with other mummies and daddies.