3 Reasons to Learn Sign Language with Your Kids

If you've never thought of learning sign language with your kids, now is a great time to do so. There are a myriad of benefits to take advantage of after learning at least the basics of sign language with your little ones such as:

Make Communication with Babies Easier

A big benefit of learning sign language with your kids is the ability to more easily communicate with babies and young toddlers. If you currently have or expect to welcome a baby, sign language can be used to communicate basic feelings and thoughts. By using sign language as you speak around them starting when they're just a few months old, your baby will learn how to communicate with you and your other kids through the hand signals you've exposed them to.

Your baby will know how to let anyone in the household know when they are hungry, dirty, or tired. They can express their delight with specific things or experiences, and they will go on to become efficient in sign language as time goes on as long as you continue using it to communicate with them even after they can form full sentences.

Encourage Patience & Body Expression

By teaching your children how to communicate with others using sign language, they'll learn how to be patient and understanding during their conversations. They will have to wait until the other person is done signing before they can begin, and they'll gain a deeper understanding of what the other person is expressing compared to simply hearing them speak.

Practicing sign language on a regular basis will also encourage your children to express themselves through body movement instead of just using their voices. Whether telling a story, communicating feelings about something, or expressing confusion, sign language offers you and your kids the opportunity to use your hands, facial expressions, and body movements to fully express what you want to convey.

Maintain a Quieter Household

Using sign language in the house can also help you maintain a quieter household, which can come in handy if someone is feeling under the weather and needs to rest or you want to get a project done that requires a lot of focus. When the house needs to be quiet, you can simply ask your kids to communicate with you and each other using sign language for a couple of hours. You can even turn it into a game by tasking the kids to learn new words and showing what they've learned off to you in a mini talent show at the end of the day.

For more information on how to learn how to do ASL with your kids, contact services such as ASL DEAFined.