Babies truly are sponges, and one new mom is showing how easily communication in all forms can come to little ones. Mara McCullough, a mom from St. Augustine, Florida, has been sharing videos of her six-month-old daughter Jane having the absolute best time learning to communicate with her grandparents, both of whom are deaf. And it just might be the dose of sweetness you need in your day.
McCullough, a child of deaf adults (CODA), chronicles her family’s adventures on TikTok, proving that baby talk babbles are adorable in any language. In one video, which quickly racked up nearly 11 million views and over 10,000 comments, baby Jane can be seen chatting with her grandparents, seemingly listening intently as they sign and then giving her own little attempts at signing back to them in response. She can be seen picking up on cues, waiting for her turn to talk, and making the sweetest little expressions as grandma and grandpa ask about her busy day and everything she dreamed about during sleep.
No doubt Jane already loves adventures with her grandparents, from spending time at the beach to reading stories together, and McCullough hopes her videos show others how easy it can be for babies to learn multiple languages from a very young age. “I think it’s opening people’s eyes to the beauty of sign language and how babies are so smart and able to communicate with you at such an early age,” McCullough told News4JAX. She calls baby Jane her “bilingual princess.”
How early can a child learn sign language?
According to the Commission of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, roughly half a million people in the U.S. speak American Sign Language (ASL) as their native language, which means learning ASL as a family is a great way to connect with others, even if your family members are hearing. And it turns out that teaching little ones how to sign can help them master verbal language, too.
“A baby’s ability to speak develops later than his or her ability to comprehend spoken language, causing a lag between what they understand (receptive language) and what they can communicate (expressive language),” as Lane Rebelo, a baby sign language instructor and founder of Tiny Signs, told TODAY. “Signing gives babies more refined tools than just pointing to express what they’re thinking. Parents who use sign language end up finding their little ones understand so much more than they ever would have imagined once they get started.”
Rebelo notes that children generally start to pick up signing cues between 6 and 12 months of age, but “parents can start teaching sign language to their baby at any time. Some parents start right away, and others wait until after their baby’s first birthday when they realize it would be really helpful for their frustrated toddler.”
Pairing a sign with a word—say, handing your child their milk and using both the verbal and sign cues for milk at the same time—is all it takes, says Rebelo. Repetition helps them become familiar with both languages, and it’s proven that early sign language exposure can help foster vocabulary and communication when compared to non-signing children.
