CDC adopts 'Baby Signs' hands-on learning

  • Published
  • By Corey Dahl
  • 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Unlike most 20-month-old children, Jack Roberts doesn't have to scream, cry or chant wild baby gibberish to tell his parents he's hungry.

Instead, he just puts his hand to his mouth - the sign for "eat" - and his parents know. No tears, ear plugs or deciphering skills needed.

How does Jack know what to do? He's one of several infants and toddlers learning the Baby Signs program at Peterson's Child Development Center. Children there are learning simple hand signs for words such as "eat," "more," "drink" and "all done," so they can communicate with their caregivers, despite their lack of language skills.

"They have no words, so they can't tell people what they need," said Deloris Kenerson, the CDC's training and curriculum specialist. "This program is designed to reduce the frustration of a baby trying to communicate."

Based on a simplified version of American Sign Language, Baby Signs was developed by a pair of doctors in the 1980s and has been used by many civilian child care centers for years. The Air Force decided to pilot the program in select child development centers last summer and then started rolling it out to other bases last fall.

The staff at Peterson's CDC adopted the program in December, and teachers have been using basic signs with the children since the beginning of the year. Though the program has only been in place for a short time, Ms. Kenerson said she's already seeing a difference.

"The older ones, like the one year olds, are really catching on," she said. "They pick it up quickly."

Sitting down for snack on a recent afternoon, several of the center's toddlers used Baby Signs to signal for more and to say thank you. Rhonda Boyer, the class' program assistant, said the signs have helped the children communicate better.

"It's made it a little easier in the classroom," she said. "And the parents just love it."

Many parents with children at the CDC have attended one of the center's introductory workshops on Baby Signs, and several have checked out extra materials to use the program at home, Ms. Kenerson said.

One of those parents is Lt. Cmdr. John Roberts, Jack's father. Commander Roberts, who works for U.S. Northern Command, heard about the program from his brother and sister-in-law and was thrilled to hear the CDC was adopting it. He has started using it at home with Jack and promotes the program to other parents at the center.

The Baby Signs program, he said, has made parenting - especially meal times - a lot easier.

"I know a lot sooner what he's trying to say," he said. "I used to sit there thinking, 'Ok, what do you want? What's the problem?' But if he can show me the sign for eating, I can solve that. We can fix being hungry."

 

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