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.

I started Kate on her first few Baby Signs when she was 6 months old. They were signs for 'more', 'all gone' and 'bottle'. I had to keep doing them for a month, without any sign that they were sinking in. I was just beginning to think it wasn't going to happen, when one morning at the end of a bottle, I thought I caught a funny little waving motion that could possibly be the sign for 'all gone'. At the next bottle I saw it again. I was so excited.

I started doing the 'all gone' sign like a crazy woman, all the while telling Kate how clever and beautiful she was. And then I saw a look in her eye that made everything wonderful. She knew that I knew what she was doing. Like the proverbial lightbulb switching on, I saw her suddenly realise that she had the ability to make me understand her thoughts and wants. It was one of those perfect moments I will never forget.

Sign Language for Babies is an excellent resource for learning how to teach sign language to your baby.

Written by Wendy Jensen, Sign Language for Babies is a step by step system that she uses in her own home. Highly recommended for any parent who wants to raise a smarter baby and offer their child a way of frustration-free communication with YOU.

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'.
It is very rare if I can't understand what Kate is 'talking' about.

I heartily believe all parents should use Baby Signs with their babies. Start at about 6 months. You can start earlier, but remember that your child won't have the coordination to actually make the signs until they are about 7 or 8 months. Start with signs for food and drink, and maybe their favorite animal.

And remember that your baby may discover their own signs rather than use yours. Kate has created her own variations of a few signs - and I had to learn from her!

Sign with Me is a site with some free baby sign resources.

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.

A loving and caring mother and father will make sure they are ready to give their child the best first year of their life possible.

Find out all the secrets of Smart Parenting