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Baby sign language promotes early communication and language development in your child. Teaching baby sign language is not difficult with the right training and resources. When you learn sign language and use it with your baby you will almost instantly see the rewards of being able to communicate with your child - and your child being able to communicate with YOU.
Using baby sign language as part of your parenting will allow your child to communicate without the frustration that leads to many temper tantrums. This is a great source of relief for many parents.
The picture to the right is my little girl Kate at the beach. She's doing her sign for 'more'. More everything, actually. More seagulls, more waves, more shells, more sand - she was having a ball, and she didn't want to go home, and she could tell us so - plain as day.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/25/2008)
For every parent or caregiver who has struggled unsuccessfully to decode baby grunts and grabs, resulting in tearful frustration for both adult and child, there is Baby Signs. Based on 20 years of research, this one-of-a-kind classic shows you how to encourage your baby's use of nonverbal gestures to enhance communication. Simple hand movements signify objects, events, and needs, so your infant can enjoy interactions with you that otherwise would have been impossible until they could talk. New features of this revised edition include helpful tips on incorporating Baby Signs into the day care setting and more than 50 additional illustrated Baby Signs.
Sign Language for Babies is an excellent resource for learning how to teach sign language to your baby.
My baby girl is 16 months now and has a vocabulary of about 60 signs or sounds, or sign/sound combinations. These include objects or things like train, car, plane, cow, cat, dog etc or concepts such as too much, hot, cold, all gone, more, gentle, or hurt. Let me tell you how much my heart exploded the first time I saw her do her Baby Sign for 'love'.Parents everywhere have discovered that by introducing a few fun and simple activities into their baby's daily routine has resulted in dramatically enhanced reading, writing, walking, and talking capabilities. The secret, they say, is to start early.
Parenting a baby these days is much more than feeding, changing and bathing. There are a few extra steps involved if you want your baby to get started on the right foot. Baby's little brains are like sponges, they are ready to soak up living and life skills from the moment they are born. It's the parent's job to give them all the wonderful stimulants they possibly can in order to give them a solid intellectual foundation to build upon as they grow.
For instance, playing music for your baby is a wonderful way to stimulate his mind. Many parenting magazines recommend playing lullabies for your baby at night, but what about the rest of the day? Babies enjoy music just as much as parents do. In fact, many parents find that the type of music they play directly affects their baby's mood.
Reading to your baby is a key factor in developing his speech and language capabilities. It is vital that you get into the habit of reading to your baby as often as possible. You should read interesting books with big bright pictures and a few long sentences so that he can begin developing speech patterns and vocabulary enunciation. Some parents even found that their baby enjoyed it when they read regular grown up type books as well. Babies enjoy the rhythmic sounds of their parent's voices as they read, even if there are no brightly colored pictures to look at.
Another very important point I must make about language and speech development is to speak to your baby in complete sentences. Try to speak to your baby as you would any other member of your family. Most parents don't think their baby will understand when they say, "It's almost dinner time, are you hungry?" But the fact of the matter is that babies are quite capable of understanding words as you speak to them, especially if you repeatedly say them as part of your daily routine.
Another extremely beneficial element to help your baby build a solid foundation is to teach him a few words to express himself using baby sign language. Yes, I know, your baby isn't deaf, but studies have shown that babies do indeed have the ability to use language to express their needs as early as 7 months old, they just don't have the motor skills to put their thoughts into words. Parents who teach their baby sign language enjoy communicating with their baby much earlier than waiting for them to learn to speak.
Just imagine, your baby will be able to tell you when he's hungry, tired or wants more food rather than you trying to guess what he needs. There are so many wonderful benefits to teaching your baby sign language; I can't possibly explain them all here. I have written an in-depth article about baby sign language here if you want to learn more about this extraordinary new communication technique.
My final parenting suggestion is to make sure he has age appropriate toys to play with in order to build and develop his fine motor skills. Make sure he has a wide variety of activities to keep his mind and his little hands busy. Babies love to explore all kinds of textures, colors, sizes and shapes. Be sure to give him small items, (not too small however) large items, soft and hard toys, noisy and quiet activities too. Here is a helpful parenting hint: sometimes the toys that are the most fun really aren't supposed to be toys at all.
Jennifer L. Wilson is a Childcare Specialist and author of the Bright Beginnings Baby Care Guide where she teaches parents how to give their baby a Smart Start from day one. She also provides parenting tips, baby care articles, news and resources at her website: BabyCareConnection.com.
There are so many things a child needs more than just love. Children are a lot different than you and me, physically and emotionally.
Amazon Price: $32.97 (as of 07/25/2008)
Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 07/25/2008)
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 07/25/2008)
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robert320
Great Lens, I had never heard of baby signing until a couple of weeks ago when my boss brought his 20 month old son round. He then proceeded to sign for everything he wanted: cuddles, food, airplane, toilet... Posted June 16, 2008 |
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herbie66
Thanks for joining! Welcome to the 'Pregnancy and Baby' Group Posted June 13, 2008 |
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herbie66
Your lens would be a great addition to the 'Pregnancy and Baby' Group Posted June 12, 2008 |
| Jimmie
Great idea for a lens! We did this when our daughter was a toddler. Very helpful to be able to communicate before she could talk. Posted May 15, 2008 |
| jeffwend
I want to use this when I have children. My nieces learned baby sign language and they were happier babies for it. They also learned to speak very young, I believe the sign language helped Posted May 15, 2008 |
| alienflower
Hey, great lens! I did a paper on the terrible twos once and teaching your baby sign language is one of the tips to help avoid them. Apparently it's never too early to have good communication skills :) Posted May 15, 2008 |
| ElizabethJeanAllen
Nice Lens. I know of several couples using the sign language with their babies. They swear by it. Posted May 14, 2008 |
| enslavedbyfaeries
Fabulous lens! Very interesting topic for new parents. Posted May 14, 2008 |
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frustratedcomputeruser
Very nice page! Well thought out gives me some ideas for my next lens. Posted May 14, 2008 |
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krisManuel
Hey Jo, my friend is about to have a baby. I'll definitely show this lens! 5* Posted May 01, 2008 |
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