I recently read an article on the Essential Baby website entitled “Eighteen kids not enough” which told the story of a woman in the U.S. who had just given birth to her 18th child. This reminded me of my Grandmother in Ireland who also gave birth to 18 children.

With such large families, communication can be difficult and there must be moments of frustration for both the parents and children. I have often noted how my mother would sometimes say things multiple times to me as she grew up in an environment where you had to say things more than once to be heard. Can you imagine trying to get your mothers attention while 17 others are also trying to do the same thing?

If only baby sign language had been around in my grandmothers day, I am sure it would have made her life a whole lot easier and may have enabled my mother and her siblings to communicate more effectively using baby sign language. Instead of having 18 children all trying to get her attention verbally, she would quickly be able to prioritise who needed what and when by scanning the room for signs. This would be just one of the benefits of baby sign language that my grandmother would have experienced.

From the photo accompanying this article, it looks like this lady has already introduced baby sign language to her children. If not, maybe its something the Duggar family should consider.