Australian Baby Hands Blog

International adoption is a great opportunity for families. And bringing small children into your home—whether biologically yours or not—comes with its own set of challenges. Big opportunities for success come in the early stages of the child’s adjustment into their new home. Australian Baby Hands wants to help you ensure early wins during this process. One of the keys is to ease frustration for these children who may have difficulties communicating due to language barriers.

Your adopted child may be exposed to a whole new language which they need to learn or you may continue to use their native language and introduce a second language. If exposing them to the new language of their adoptive country (more…)

I recently read an article which highlighted in a table the differences between a signing baby and their non-signing counterpart in language acquisition.  This table appeared on an American blog called Baby Sign Shine and I thought it would be great to share it with all you Aussie parents and create an Australian version of the table below.  If you could spare 30 seconds, I would really appreciate your input to understand the key milestones Australian parents are experiencing in relation to language acquisition with their signing baby.   (more…)

Many parents wonder what will happen to their children’s signs as they get older and if there is any benefit in continuing to use sign language with them.  Will they continue to use their signs once they develop speech?  If so, what is the benefit of using sign language with verbal Pre-schoolers?

Baby sign language is not only beneficial for pre-verbal children but it has also proven to be beneficial for verbal Pre-schoolers.  It is never too late to introduce to sign language to your child and to begin experiencing the benefits.

So what are these benefits? (more…)

What’s the definition of motivational signs? Parents approach this definition differently and the result is different parents introduce different motivational signs.

The key difference is that by introducing motivational signs correctly some babies will be signing back a lot sooner than others.

So I thought I would try and highlight a couple of the most common motivational signs I have seen and how they have resulted in a signing success story. (more…)

How many of you have previously travelled with a baby, toddler or young child? How many of you have travelled with more than one child? With school holidays fast approaching, many families have already booked their holidays. Whether it’s a long or short journey, kids need to be entertained. Have you ever thought about using baby sign language to entertain your kids while travelling?

Over the past 6 months I have travelled both domestically and internationally and witnessed parents using different tactics to entertain their children while travelling. Some used portable dvd players, some had toys, some had books and some had timed the travel so it coincided with sleep time but no one seemed to be using baby sign language. So I thought I would use this opportunity to highlight how you can use baby sign language for a less stressful journey.

So why would you use baby sign language over any of the above methods mentioned? Baby sign language is a fun, educational interaction which when used while travelling can expose you to the many benefits of baby sign language.

One benefit which is great if you are travelling on public transport such as buses, planes and trains is how quiet but fun it can be. On all modes of transport you will have an assigned seat where you need to stay until you have reached your destination. The problem is getting a toddler or young child to sit still can be quite a task. So here are some ideas for making travel a more peaceful, stressful, fun experience for you and your child.

Use Your Surroundings:

When travelling, you can use both the surroundings inside as well as outside to have fun with using baby sign language. Using the signs, “where”, “yes” and “no”, you can sign “where” and add a sign after it for whatever it is you want your child to point to. For example Mum signs “Where’s teddy?”.

You would then encourage your child to point to the teddy and sign teddy and you could sign back “yes teddy” or “no” if they point at the wrong thing. When they get it right, you can use the signed round of applause sign which is having both hands bent at the elbow, hands at shoulder height, palms facing out and rotate your hands from side to side by moving your wrists. This is a great way to do a round of applause silently.

Your surroundings could include some of the following: “bird”, “blanket”, “book”, “drink”, “house”, “milk”, “music”, “rain”, “sun”, “water”, “toilet”, “brother”, “mum”, “dad”, “sister”, “aunt”, “uncle”, “car”, “dog” etc. These are just a sample of word from the Baby Hands book & dvd to get you started.

You can also build on this vocabulary to include signs such as “up, down, clouds, plane” if you are travelling on a plane. If travelling on a train or bus, you can include signs such as “tree”, “animal”, “fast”, “slow”, “stop”.

Use Books:

As well as reading with your baby to try and entertain them on your journey, playing baby sign language games is a great way to keep them entertained. Using the illustrations, you can play the “where is” game mentioned above.

The ABC signs can be really fun for kids of all ages. Using your alphabet book from home, sign a letter and then have your child find the letter in the book. Use the “applause” sign to celebrate with your child when they are correct. This is a great game to play with siblings as both older and younger kids love to sign and it will also help encourage sibling signing.

This game could go on for quite some time if you are to go through all letters of the alphabet. If your child is a little older, they can sign to you and you can find the letter.

Once you are finished with the alphabet, there are always numbers to play with. Use a book and ask “how many” of a particular item they see. You can count for them or with them and sign along as you say the numbers. You will be amazed at how fast they will pick it up.

Finally, you cannot forget your animals and colours. For colours, sign “where” and ask your child where a certain colour is on your shirt, his shirt or in the book. You could also point to colours around the airplane and encourage your child to sign the colour.

For animals, many books consist of stories about animals. Again, sign “where” and have the child find the page on which that animal can be found. All kids love animals and animal signs. Once you have found all the animals in a book, you could then try singing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and add the animals in the book. Its great fun and your kids will love it!

Another option is to read with your baby while signing which is a really is a great way to help your child learn the signs and feel engaged in the story.

So next time you go travelling, why not try some of the baby sign language travel games mentioned above and let me know what success you had.

Happy Travel Signing!

I have just spent the last two weeks at home in Ireland visiting friends and family and got to catch up with lots of new baby’s that have been born.

These babies ranged in ages from 3-6 months and there were an equal split of boys and girls. Of these 6 children, one mum had actively decided to try baby sign language from day one, some decided to wait until their baby was at the best age to start baby sign and some (more…)

Baby sign language is usually only thought of in the context of understanding a baby’s wants and needs but having a basic knowledge of baby sign language has proven to be a helpful intervention with children diagnosed with special needs including Apraxia.

Sign language provides a multi-sensory input that children with Apraxia need to in order to develop normal speech. In addition, it helps children with Apraxia receive many of the same social (more…)

Autism is something which is very close to my heart. When I was 10 years old my baby brother Patrick was born. I was the very proud older sister but as the months passed, my baby brother was not like all my other friends’ baby brothers. I remember when Patrick was 3 years old and was still not talking. This was causing a lot of anxiety for my parents and a lot of frustration for Patrick.

Sometimes there were temper tantrums, sometimes we knew what he wanted first guess. He seemed locked away in his own world and we did not have the tools to reach him. While Patricks diagnosis took a number of years before it was confirmed, during this pre-verbal time, baby sign language would have been a fun and useful tool to use with my baby brother.

I believe it would have made a real difference in Patricks early years. Patrick loved books (more…)

With Mothers Day fast approaching and one of the most popular baby signs to introduce into a home being the sign for Mum, I thought I would talk through the two signs we use at Baby Hands in our baby sign products use for Mum and the differences between them and when we use them.

Simple Baby Sign For Mum

The first sign for Mum is the one which we include in all our material and it is the simplest for a baby to reproduce.  This sign is created when you (more…)

All babies can learn to communicate through sign language before they can talk, which is good in itself, but this is especially helpful for babies or children with Down syndrome who may have trouble talking. It provides another way to communicate. Sign language is often a tool they use to build their confidence communicating.

What Is Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome (also called Trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder that occurs in approximately 1 of 700 live births and it is the leading cause of cognitive impairment.

This condition is associated with (more…)