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24 Teachearlyyears.com Teaching children signs and gestures can accelerate language development and even reduce tantrums, explains Tamsin Grimmer… Want to boost communication? TAMSIN GRIMMER IS AN EARLY YEARS CONSULTANT, TRAINER AND AUTHOR. Us your h nds! ONE OF THE FIRST MILESTONES that I remember all of my children making was waving ‘bye-bye’ to their daddy as he left for work in the morning. Gestures are a large part of how we naturally communicate with others and more specifically with young children, for example, nodding in agreement, waving ‘hello’ or clapping in delight. This is not just about physical coordination but primarily about social interaction. Babies are social beings from birth, eager to communicate. You may have seen the lovely video clip of a baby, only a few minutes old, poking his tongue out and copying his dad as he pokes his tongue out at him. This is an example of our innate desire to communicate with others and gesture is the ideal way to do this. I have always been interested in sign language and many years ago learned British Sign Language and Makaton while working as an Area SENCo. I’d read lots of articles about using signs with babies but it was only when I had my own children that I had the opportunity to try it out. I signed with all three of my children from birth and they communicated with me through signs several months before they could speak. I have since used signs and gestures while childminding and in a number of schools and settings, and I am convinced that it is an underused style of communication within the early years sector. Encouraging communication For me, communication is about developing meaningful interactions with others and giving and receiving messages within a reciprocal relationship. Very young children naturally communicate their needs and wants through vocalisations, crying and gestures, and deliberately using signs taps into these natural methods and can ensure the success of these communication styles. Children begin to gesture from around 8–9-months old and this provides an insight into their receptive language development, what they hear and understand. Children who use signs and gestures demonstrate their understanding of language at an earlier age because developmentally children gesture before they can speak, thus their gestures enable them to communicate effectively before they utter their first word. This is about the richness of early language acquisition and not about getting children to talk as early as possible, but simply getting children to communicate. There is a wealth of research which outlines the benefits of using signs and gestures with all children, not just with children who may have additional needs (Barnes, bit. do/TEYbn10; Ford, bit.do/TEYfd06) : l Signing can decrease frustration in the early years before speech is developed enough to express a child’s needs and wants, thus fewer tantrums! l It has been noted that babies who use signs have a greater attention span and can focus for longer on play. l Signing assists understanding of Signing with young children will enable practitioners to get to know the child’s needs and wants and plan effectively to meet those needs.