Teach your baby to sign by Leanne Jackson

For a parent there is nothing worse than watching as your child struggles to make itself understood. They know what they want to say, and may even know the word they want to say but so often they are not able to form that word in a way that an adult can understand. Even when they can talk they may not be able to make the word they want to say understood. This leads to frustration on both the part of the adult and the child and, more often than not, results in your little one crying as you both fumble around with communication. But this is just a part of growing up, right? Wrong!

Baby signing is a way of getting your child to make itself understood from as young an age as seven or eight months old. It uses broad and easily understandable gestures to indicate words and phrases giving your child a whole new vocabulary, before they even learn to speak. Children who learn to sign find that they are quicker to communicate and therefore are less inclined to have tantrums due to frustration. There is also studies that say that signing leads to a higher IQ in your child; they are likened to sponges at a young age and pick things up very quickly.

It is important to stick with a recognised signing course as, although you may be quite capable of creating your own signs, it would be quite embarrassing if the sign you taught your child for eat actually meant toilet! And don't be discouraged if your child doesn't start immediately. They do need time to pick things up but you will be amazed at how quickly it will come to them, and how quickly they will surpass you. And the shy, stumbling toddler will become confident at communicating and getting things right.

If you liked this article and want some more information on American Sign Language (ASL) then please check out this site:

http://babysigning.url-Site.com

About the Author

A mother of three, taking each day as it comes and trying to pass on some useful information.

How Baby Signing Can Assist Your Baby's Development by Douglas Titchmarsh

Young babies are excellent mimics, primarily because they don't copy purely due to instinct, but in fact they actually enjoy copying your behaviour. Experts now recommennd that this natural mimicry be harnessed by parents for positive benefits to the infant and parents which can help in long term ways. Experts are encouraging the parents to teach their children baby sign language even before they learn to speak. By giving the young child a way to express itself through signing its needs to the parents, it makes for a less stressful experience for all concerned. In this day and age one less stress for parents already coping with modern life just has to be a good thing.

Signing is a useful stepping stone in the development of communication for the baby, and helps to lead the infant towards speech. Even as the child progresses to speech there are extra benefits to continuing to practise baby signing. Some may be led to believe that trying to learn two languages (spoken and signing) at the same time may confuse the youngsters brain, but tests, and ral life examples have proven that this fear is unfounded. In actual fact the twin languages can actually be used to augment each other and to help explain context where difficulty does arise.

A number of scientists believe that teaching sign language to your baby can actually result in better development of your childs brain. Babies who learn to speak via the route of sign language get higher levels of brain stimulation than those who miss out sign language, and just jump straight to learning to speak.

As always the beliefs of these scientists are based on the facts they know about the workings of the human brain. Learning speech and sign language simultaneously is akin to learning two languages at the same time. As a baby learns speech the information is processed by the brain, and then stored for later reference in an area of the brain's left hemisphere. Conversely when the baby is using signing the entire process becomes more complex. When using baby sign language, the brain is forced to consider the visual cues, which are processed in the right hemisphere, and then transferred for re-processing and storage to the left hemisphere. As you can see this will benefit in better left brain right brain communication, and use of the brain as a whole. In addition scientists like Dr. Marilyn Daniels note that the babies who are learning just speech make use only of two organs, the mouth and the ear. Babies using sign language also develop hand co-ordination, and have to use visual clues bringing their eyes into use.

All of this combined means that using baby sign language helps to develop a better comprehension of language earlier in the childs development. Recent studies also showed that signing assists in the children's reading abilities. The sign-trained children already have the ability to remember words visually in conjunction with their real meaning, so they are less prone to forgetting the meaning of words when they start to learn to read. Non signing children have been found to have more difficulty when first learning to read.

Now you understand some of the benefits of baby sign language it should be easier to make the decision to start teaching your baby sign language. There really doesn't seem to be any downsides so far as tests have shown,so why shouldn't you give your baby the benefits that signing can offer?

About the Author

Douglas Titchmarsh is the webmaster of the Baby Sign Language resource site at http://www.baby-signing.info

The Secrets Of Baby Sign Language by Marie Wilson

What do you think about the fact that some babies have been known to use sign language as early as six weeks old? Yes, it has been shown that babies in non-hearing households have actually done this. Although it is not typical, it has happened.


Babies normally are good candidates for sign language around the age of six months. They can be taught to communicate with you through using their hands. You can improve on this by starting to sign as early as possible. Simple signing such as shaking your head for no is a basic place to start.


Using the conventional sign language or making up your own version, start teaching your baby when he starts paying attention to things going on around him. Instead of crying when something is bothering him, he may just be able to tell you what it is by signing. Children normally do not learn to talk until they are at least a year old. Some are even later than this.


This can be a special time between you and your baby. Learning to sign together is great fun and can create a bond with your child. Signing for bye-bye, mom, dad, sleep, and eat are the basics. When you use a sign for the word you are teaching him, make sure you say the word when you sign it.


There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to signing with your child. The main thing is to always make sure you use the same sign for the same word. Repetition is the greatest learning tool for people of all ages. Do not limit this to an at-home activity, use it everywhere you and your child go.


There will be no other feeling like the first time your baby signs to you. Not only will you be the proudest parent around, but you will be so thrilled at being able to communicate with your baby without talking.


It is surprising that it has taken this long for this method of communicating to be recognized. This has been a way of mother animals communicating with their young for ages. They are not able to do it as we can, using our hands, but they do it with their actions.


One of the important things to remember when you start teaching your baby to sign is do not try too much too soon. At six months of age, their world mainly revolves around eating and sleeping with a little play time thrown in. The basics are all they need to know at this time. It will develop into more later.


If you are unsure of how to start teaching your baby, there are a lot of good videos around that will help to get you started. Most of these teach the American sign language because it is a method that is recognized worldwide. This may be the best approach, giving your child a head start on being able to communicate with the hearing impaired.


Regardless of which method you use, this will be a great learning experience for you and your child. Knowing what your baby is thinking before they can tell you is priceless.

About the Author

If you are interested in learning more about baby signing or baby sign language in the UK then visit us at SignLanguageForBabies.net.

Confessions Of A Baby Sign Language Mom by Misty Weaver

Confessions Of A Baby Sign Language Mom

As the mother of a two-year-old boy I am a big fan of baby signing - but this wasn't always the case! My first experience of signing with my baby very nearly put me off for good...

I took my little girl, Kaeden, to our first baby signing class when she was only two weeks old. I was desperate to get out of the house, and the baby signing tutor said the class was suitable from birth - and would be great fun. Ha!

Kaeden and I turned up and I laid her down on the mat as instructed. She was fast asleep. How is she going to learn the signs, I thought? Don't worry, said tutor, you will need to learn them first anyway. This made sense. The class started to fill up with other moms and their children. We sat in a circle, with the babies and toddlers in the middle facing Mommy. The singing began.

No one had warned me about this. I don't mind singing to my baby at home alone - but not in company. My singing voice is seriously scary! And frighten the babies it did. No sooner had I started to sing, all the babies in the room began to cry. The other moms glared at me. I shut up but it was too late. Nobody in the room could hear the tutor as she tried to show us the signs for Monkey and Elephant - the babies were making too much noise. And Kaeden was the loudest of all.

We didn't try baby sign language again for a couple of months. When I started again I tried a different class, and both Kaeden and I enjoyed it more. Yes, there were songs, but I had learned my lesson and kept very quiet! Sitting with Kaeden on my lap, making signs to her while she gazed up at me, I experienced a flow of love for her so strong I wanted to cry. The feeling that I was teaching my baby her first words, her first signs, was like nothing on earth. That day we learned the signs for Hello and Mommy and Daddy and Milk and, I remember, for Happy. Which I certainly was.

I practiced at home, using the signs whenever I talked to Kaeden, and her daddy started to use a few signs too. We kept up with the classes for a few months, then I got some flash cards and a wall chart to help me learn new signs - and remember the ones I'd already learned. My reward came when Kaeden was seven months old, and she used the sign for More. I was so excited!

Now she has too many signs to count, and she talks real well too. In fact, she talked a lot earlier than many of my friends' children. As for toddler tantrums - we have a few, but not many. I still haven't had a chance to use the signs for Monkey or Elephant - but I'm sure I will one day.

Click here for more information on how to get started with your baby on
Baby Sign Language .

About the Author

A mother of a 2 year old boy and also a Baby Sign Language advocate. Signing is a very important step in the devalopment of your child. It is also a brilliant way for the two of you to communicate. To get more information on Baby Sign Language: including free video tutorials, sign language flash cards, and how to get started with baby sign language visit the
Baby Sign Language website.