Visit a home where you will possibly find a toddler around and to your great amusement you will inevitably come to see the enthusiasm of her parents in demonstrating their little girls rhyming skills.
The nursery rhymes like old Mc Donald, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or Mary Had a Little Lamb is sung out by almost all the children all over the world! So what? Each mother feels that her little one is best in their deliverance.
But the question that counts here is, What attracts the children to these age old rhymes generation after generation? No, not only the rhythm of the narration or rhyming words of the poetry, it is the way, how these rhymes are told to the children that determines how they will accept them.
It is precisely the actions that follow your verbal narration of the poetry that fascinates the children and they take great interest in repeating the same actions demonstrated by you.
Just play the same nursery rhyme in the tape recorder and see how your child reacts to it. Now play it out before her with animated actions and just watch her expressions—full of delight and excitement. And not only that, she will inevitably try to imitate some of your actions herself.
How can you explain this phenomenon? This is because the understanding of the true meaning of the words becomes a lot easier for the child if they are supported by little bit of action.
When you are narrating poetry to your child just plainly, it is nothing more than a string of sounds for the baby and she cannot make out any meaning of those sounds.
But as you utter those sounds with expression, she can link it with its meaning and as you repeat the actions times and again, the baby gradually gets the meaning of the whole rhymes, and then she starts to get entertained.
This is precisely what provided the basis of development of the baby sign language as the communication vehicle for the pre-verbal babies.
Starting from the late 1980s, the researches relating to the subjects have given birth to interesting and impressive results. So it is of little surprise then that millions of families all around the globe have opted for baby sign language training for their children.
Early training to sign language not only can enable your child to communicate with you from as early an age as six months, but it has also been proved by the researches that the signing babies develop the speaking skills earlier than their non-signing friends.
Add to it the reduced frustration of your child and enhanced bond between you two. Armed with communication power, your child will less likely to throw tantrums when their wishes are not fulfilled, and as a result you will experience a stress free parenting experience.
Then allow a few years pass and you will see to your delight and amazement how your child outperforms others in their linguistic skills in their latter course of their lives.
Then the IQ levels of the sign-trained children are also reported to be higher than those who haven’t undergone sign training during their early days.
The key to success in your endeavor is patience and repetition. But all your diligence will pay you back when your little one starts to sign back to you to share his thoughts with you.
