How local families can learn to sign with their baby for better communication

No one’s really invented a way to translate what exactly a baby is trying to tell us when they cry – although most of us have a pretty good idea it either involves food, or having a diaper changed.

The closest thing we have, according to one local parent, is sign language.

Lee Ann Steyns desperately wanted to communicate with her then-baby girl. “She was a fussy, colicky baby, and I was a tired, frustrated mom who desperately wanted to know how to help her feel better,” writes Steyns on her website, signingbabies.ca.

Signing seemed to do the trick: by the time Steyns’ daughter was 15 months, she could sign 40 different words. Today, Steyns offers a variety of different workshops, driven by her passion to unlock the potential of sign language in other children.

“It’s amazing what we are continually learning about what babies have the capacity for,” says Dana Osiowy, the executive director at New West Family Place. “I remember when my little one was eight months, nine months, was able to start signing that he wanted more milk or more food.”

While these classes with parent and baby are often referred to colloquially as ‘baby sign language,’ babies don’t have their own style of sign language to learn. Parents and babies learn American Sign Language (ASL) through exercises at the workshop; ASL is considered an invaluable lifelong skill that offers another option for communication.

Osiowy says being new to the world is challenging for a baby as their minds are overwhelmed with stimuli. “It’s interesting when your baby is pre-verbal. They’re just learning how to mouth, but their brains are exploding with knowledge,” she says, adding that if your baby isn’t crying, their only other option may be to babble, or escalate to a tantrum – because it’s one of the few things they know will get a parent’s attention.

Osiowy says offering this sign language workshop to babies and their parents through New West Family Place allows parents to unlock another tool to use, if it works for them.

“I call it the ‘pressure release valve’ that comes out of it, because you’re like, ‘oh, something is clicking!’ A lot of signing is about eating and food, and that can be really loaded for parents. When your kid eats and is just mouth down [on the food], you’re like ‘I am the superhero parent!’ ”

Conversely, Osiowy says there are parents who have expressed frustration when their child doesn’t want to eat what’s in front of them. “They’re like, ‘I am the worst parent,’ and there’s a lot of stuff going on around that. Having that little pressure release valve, that key to unlock, it can make a big difference for your kiddos, and for your own sanity, as a parent.”

Along with the signing workshop, New West Family Place consistently offers free workshops to parents and guardians in the community.

“I call it the baby parade on Wednesdays – well, it’s a baby drop-in, where you see all the babies come in, and then we also offer some parent education options. We also just had a sex therapy workshop about reconnecting and intimacy after baby,” explains Osiowy.

While some of the subjects are easily available with a Google search, Osiowy says nothing beats connecting in-person. “[Internet-based information] can be a black hole. Parenting is a super hard job, so how can we rely on each other, our community and our network to do that?” says Osiowy. “At the end of the day, it can be really isolating as a parent.”

And as parents learn, so do the children – since Family Place provides them with an opportunity to socialize, too. “What we’re doing is creating this interconnected web. If you’re alone in this journey, then everything can be scary, everything can be overwhelming. By creating this, especially during COVID, it’s been wonderful and hilarious,” explains Osiowy.

There are still some spaces left for anyone interested in learning how to sign with their baby – and the little one can be asleep or awake for the workshop! Stay connected with New West Family Place through their website, as well as on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for updates on programs offered.

Some interesting facts about babies and sign language

You can find an in-depth dive into the science behind signing on Lee Ann Stynes’ web site.

• Babies can follow gestures and use signs well before they can speak.

• Typically babies show an ability to understand sign language between four and six months.

• After exposing your baby to sign language regularly, babies can sign back as early as eight months old.

• It’s common for babies to sleep during a signing class! Stynes says the only folks who need to be awake are the parents. Signing to youngsters is often taught through song.