Teach your baby to sign

Baby signing is devised on the same principle as signing for the deaf; hand signal and gestures that indicate words and phrases. If you are a parent you will know the frustration that your child feels when it is unable to express itself with words; they understand what is being said but all too often cannot say the right word, or make themselves understood and this often comes out as temper tantrums. Signing is a way to let your child explain what they mean in a way that they make themselves 'heard'.

Anyone can use baby signing. A baby from around 8 months will have the learning capacity to start picking up sign language, and then the problem you will have is keeping up with them! Learning signing also has been proven to help your child in future schooling; children that have learned to sign will often be able to pick up maths quicker. It also leads to your child being able to make themselves understood more readily and be less afraid of 'language' than those who have not used signing.

Some parents make up their own sign language, which is fine, as long as you stick to the same gestures and movements each time. However, it is worth looking into recognised signing terms as used by ASL (American Sign Language) or Makaton; the last thing you would want is to teach your child a gesture that to you means mummy, but means toilet to everyone else!

Baby signing does take time and effort on your part, indeed you will find your child soon outstrips you if you are learning together. However, it is well worth looking into if you want to give your child a head start in life, and want the joy of communicating with your child on a better level.

Click HERE to see how to get hold of baby signing for your child.