Let’s talk about toddlers!
Toddlers are curious
Toddlers are active
Toddlers are creative
Toddlers are emotional
Toddlers… have a lot to say
Do you have a toddler in your life that makes you think “I wish I could bottle up that energy, curiosity and creativity … for myself.”
If so, you’re not alone. Toddlers are truly just so much fun.
Here at Communication Junction, we love to interact with toddlers and help them learn new things. When thinking about signing with children, people often think that it is only for babies. And that couldn’t be further from the truth! Teaching your toddler sign language has so many benefits.
Why You Should Be Signing With Your Toddler
(even after they start talking)
It’s true that there are so many reasons and so many benefits of signing across ages, especially with toddlers. I have four specific reasons I want to share with you!
Signing with your toddler can…
- Clarify their message
- Reduce Frustration
- Help them learn new things
- Be fun!
Let’s dive in.
Signing can Clarify Their Message:
Toddlers have A LOT to say. But do you understand everything they are saying (even if they are meeting those spoken language milestones)? I’m guessing the answer is “no”, not all the time.
The spoken language milestone for a toddler at 24 months old is AT LEAST 50 spoken words (most have 200-300) and combining words to make 2 word phrases.
If your child is on track with these milestones. Awesome! Teaching your toddler sign language still helps!
If your child is NOT on track with these milestones. No problem. Teaching your toddler sign language can help and a Speech and Language Evaluation with your local Early Intervention program, might be warranted.
In both situations, signs can help CLARIFY your child’s message. A toddler is not supposed to be understood 100% of the time. In fact at age 2, you should only be understanding about 50% of what they are saying.
As you can see, we don’t expect a child to be easily understood until closer to 4 years old!
So using signs, paired with their words, can help you understand their message. Typically when your child uses a modification for a word and then pairs it with a sign, it helps prevent a communication breakdown.
Signing can Reduce Frustration
Speaking of communication breakdown. When your toddler says something that you don’t understand quickly, it’s pretty likely that a meltdown or tantrum might be on the way.
(If this is you, use this resource to help!)
BUT if you are able to EASILY understand your toddler, because they paired their spoken word with signs, you can skip the frustration and move right to following up on what they said. Avoiding an unnecessary meltdown.
Signing can Help Toddlers Learn New Things
So maybe your child is meeting all of their speech and language milestones and you’re not having a hard time understanding them. That is awesome. Teaching your toddler sign language is STILL beneficial for them!
Signs help our toddlers learn new things. The world is full of new experiences and new concepts. We know that our children FIRST learn through movement and their hands before they even use their first spoken word (think clapping, waving, pointing and of course signing). So it makes sense that using signs to teach them new things is an awesome tool.
Not only can teaching your toddler sign language help them learn new vocabulary, they can also help your child learn about things that are abstract.
Things that we cannot touch, feel or hold:
- Emotions
- Colors
- Letters
- Numbers
Having a sign for these abstract concepts is so helpful to create meaning for your child.
Signing Together is Fun
Having something that you share with your child, that helps strengthen your bond (because you can easily understand each other) and opens up communication for them… creates a fun and positive experience. Children love adding signs and gestures to songs they sing and books they are reading.
So there you have it, our top 4 reasons you should start, or continue teaching your toddler sign language.
Ready to Start Signing with Your Toddler?
We would love to help! We have classes specifically designed for teaching your toddler sign language. These classes focus on those abstract concepts of colors, numbers, shapes, letters and feelings.
Another great option to get started teaching your toddler sign language is our Virtual Story Time Program. We also host a 30 minute Virtual Story Time each month that will introduce simple signs to your toddler that you can start using today to help reduce frustration, increase communication and ramp up the fun!
