Baby gestures

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A toddler in the USA signs the sign for English. “ Bird ” in Baby sign language , 2009

Baby sign language (also baby signs , baby hands, children sign called English baby sign language ) are gestures by which the non-verbal communication of infants and young children with their parents and other caregivers should be improved.

The popular practice of parents who, with their hearing children, use some signs in German sign language (in connection with baby signs, German sign language is also used in Switzerland and not Swiss-German sign language ) in addition to the spoken language, is mainly due to numerous publications of guides and promoted by other interested parties. This is not undisputed. In particular, it is controversial whether the children learn to speak faster as a result, especially since there are no reliable scientific findings for this.

concept

Selection of baby or child signs

Since verbal communication does not begin until around the age of twelve months and is only suitable for expressing more complex content over time, baby signs should serve for earlier communication or to supplement the communication options of a baby and toddler. Baby signs are signs of a sign language . Signs are sometimes simplified or shortened or taken from another sign language in order to better distinguish them from similar baby signs or to adapt the signs to the dexterity of babies. Baby signs are conveyed by showing them in everyday situations (playing, eating, reading, singing, etc.) parallel to the spoken word. After a certain period of time, the baby or toddler uses the baby signs. A well-known baby gesture is waving, which toddlers are taught to say goodbye.

Postulated effects

The use of gestures builds on babies 'and toddlers' natural ability to use gestures. Hand-eye coordination develops much earlier than oral motor skills, i.e. the ability to express oneself verbally. Because of the fine motor skills of the hands, babies and toddlers can use baby gestures and use them for words like “more”, “ball”, “milk”, “apple”. This gives them the opportunity to communicate non-verbally with baby signs. This is intended to make it easier for parents and caregivers to understand the child and thus helps promote the parent-child relationship . Baby gestures should also give the child a sense of security because it is better understood. Baby gestures should therefore alleviate the defiant phase . Proponents of baby signing observe as a side effect a somewhat earlier formation of terms and language development as well as an easier start in the development of literacy. However, this observation cannot be scientifically supported.

science

In a 2008 article in the British Psychological Society , Gewyneth Doherty-Sneddon looked in detail at the theoretical basis for the growth of this phenomenon and some of the claims made by its proponents. Mechthild Kiegelmann gave an assessment from the perspective of developmental psychology in her article published in 2009 in Daszeichen - magazine for language and culture of the deaf . Doherty-Sneddon and Kiegelmann pointed out that promoting children with signing is not entirely new. Variants have been used by speech and language disorders therapists for decades with children who have language and / or cognitive impairments (e.g., Clibbens et al., 2002). It is generally accepted that communication - be it cognitive, social, emotional, or action - is at the heart of the child's development (e.g. Vygotsky, 1978). A systematic review from the University of Ottawa analyzed 17 studies on baby signing that were carried out from 1980 to 2003 . Massive methodological deficiencies were found, so that no study allows a scientifically sound statement or proof of benefit and the results were already predetermined by the study structure.

literature

  • Babro Walker: Baby Signs - sign language for young children . In: Skeptiker , 4/2017, pp. 180-183.
  • Birgit Butz, Anna-Kristina Mohos, Unmada Manfred Kindel: Singing, playing, telling stories with children's gestures . Ökotopia-Verlag, Aachen 2017, ISBN 978-3-86702-404-4 .
  • Birgit Butz, Anna-Kristina Mohos, Vanessa Paulzen (Ill.): Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter with children's gestures Ökotopia Verlag, Münster 2014, ISBN 978-3-86702-292-7 .
  • Wiebke Gericke: babySignal - speaking with your hands. Communicate playfully with the little ones. Kösel-Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-466-34532-8 .
  • Susanne Weidenhausen, Simone Astolfi, Karin Schutt: Baby's sign language. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8338-1039-8 ( GU plus - GU counselor for children ).
  • Vivian König: The big book of baby signs. Communicate with babies before they can speak. Kestner-Verlag, Guxhagen 2007, ISBN 978-3-9810709-7-2 .
  • Eva Möller: picture book of baby hand signals. Discover and learn the baby sign language together. EM Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3000246197 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See, for example, the following bachelor thesis at the University of Neubrandenburg from 2009 and the numerous specialist literature mentioned therein: Ulrike Mann: The new trend of "baby sign language" - the importance of non-verbal communication in childhood . University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg, Neubrandenburg 2009 ( hs-nb.de [PDF; accessed on July 16, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon: The great baby signing debate . In: Psychologist , 21, 2008, pp. 300–303, [1] (PDF; 89 kB)
  3. ↑ Mechthild Kiegelmann: Baby Signing - An assessment from a developmental perspective. 82, (2009), pp. 262–272, [2] (PDF; 650 kB)
  4. ↑ J. Clibbens, GG Powell, E. Atkinson: Strategies for achieving joint attention when signing to children with Down's syndrome . In: International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders , 37 (3), 2002, pp. 309–323
  5. ^ LS Vygotsky: Mind in society. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA 1978
  6. ^ JC Johnston, A. Durieux-Smith: Teaching gestural signs to infants to advance child development: A review of the evidence . In: First Language, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2005, pp. 235-251
  7. ↑ Tania Greiner: Baby Sign Language - I show, so I speak! In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . February 19, 2008, accessed September 19, 2009 .