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, baby sign language will help bridge the gap of communication while they make the connections of what it is you are trying to say in this new language. If you want to use two languages with your adopted child , baby sign language will provide a common sign for words in both languages, helping to make the transition and understanding process a little faster.

It is easier to learn new signs compared to learning new sounds/languages. New sounds require the “complex use of facial muscles including the formation of lips, the use of the tongue and controlling of vocal chords, among others.” As a lot of signs can be iconic; symbolize what you are trying to communicate, it can make learning sign language a little easier.  Baby Sign Language research has also highlighted that using sign language helps children remember the word as they are using both hemispheres of the brain when they sign.

Studies have shown that adoptions from homes and those from orphanages are very different. A child coming from an orphanage may encounter a delay in the development of their social skills (Center for Adoption Medicine). International adoptions bring with them the culture shock. Language is just one of the challenges facing your new buddle of joy. The child might not have  never encountered or developed a taste for the foods your family enjoys, or they may have unknown fears you would not expect. When they are not able to express this the result is frustration such as throwing tantrums . Let’s help soothe the child, empower them to communicate, and bring peace into the home.

Start communicating with signs. This bridges the gap and helps you and your child bond faster. Your child is never too old for baby sign.  If there is a communication barrier such as language, baby sign language can provide a tool for your child to help them be understood and bond with you much earlier than waiting for them to acquire a new language.

So let’s recap. Communication is a powerful tool when adopting internationally because it eases the child’s physical frustration to communicate, builds a quicker bond between you and your child, and gives them a jump start to their education. And lastly, in case of illness, injury, or another emergency your child can more quickly help you identify the reason for alarm.

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.   ASL below refers to American Sign Language, the signing system used in the U.S.
Here are the key milestones some American parents have been experiencing.

Language Acquisition of Hearing Children

As highlighted in the international research on baby sign language, it has been found it be very beneficial for language development and vocabulary building.  This is clearly demonstrated in the table above.  Not alone were children speaking at an earlier age, they were using a more extensive vocabulary and had the language skills of children more senior than them.

I believe that parents involved in the production of the above chart would be parents who began introducing baby sign language from day one.  “When should I start signing to my baby?” is one of the most common questions I get.  What I have found since starting Baby Hands is that parents who begin signing with their baby from day one generally get a sign back from their baby before parents who start at the 4-6 month mark.

By starting at day one, you are getting yourself into a routine in relation to everything concerning your baby and baby sign is just one of those things you include in that routine.  I have had many emails over the years from parents who started on day one and experienced their first sign back before the six month mark.  The youngest signing baby I was emailed about signed back at 4 months of age – that means the Aussie version of this table would look a little different.

But not all parents are able to start signing on day one, so do what is right for you.  You can still experience the benefits of baby sign but it would not be at the levels highlighted in the chart above.

Between 6 and 12 months of age, a lot of parents can experience the first sign back or the 10^th sign back.  The chart above highlights 75 signs at 9 months of age. Different parents have different reasons and expectations for baby sign language.  I have had parents whose children have a signing vocabulary of 10 words at 12 months and others who have over 100 signs.

My advice is to keep baby sign as a fun activity you do with your baby, don’t let it stress you and you will reap the rewards.  As long as you are reducing the frustration experienced as a result of pre-verbal communication and you can understand your baby’s needs and wants, that’s the most important thing.

I generally find that the signing explosion happens in kids after the 12 month mark.  Baby signing and the signing explosion will depend on a number of factors including:

• The balance of motivational and practical signs
• The number of people signing to the child
• The consistency of signing by those involved in the process

Once your baby has acquired 6-10 signs, you can begin to introduce small sign sentences to them.  Examples of this include “more milk”, “milk please” or “book finished”.  This is a great way to help your baby with language acquisition so when they do go to speak they understand they can group words together and make small sentences.

The chart above highlights the first real words from signing babies at 12 months of age.  What parents have fed back to me is that once their baby begins to speak, their speech is generally quite clear and they generally speak at an earlier age to those who are not using baby sign.  Many Baby Hands parents have been given compliments about their baby’s vocabulary, the large words they are able to pronounce and their understanding of words in general.  The big key to the table above is baby sign introduces a child’s understanding of language from a young age and this enables their communication, language development and vocabulary to grow from that point also.

Help Us To Create Our Aussie Signers Survey

I would love to get your feedback and experiences so we can create the Aussie version of the above chart.  Let me know what your experiences have been as you went through the various age brackets, how their sign developed and the impact of language and vocabulary.  I have created a quick multiple choice questionnaire to help to collate your responses. 

Please fill in the form below or you can go to the direct online version here:

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?

In the early 19th century, educators realized that sign language helped the hearing siblings of deaf children learn to read. Due to political reasons, no further study on this topic was pursued until the 1970s.   It was at this point that researchers found that the hearing children of Deaf parents actually learned to read before they began school if their parents signed and fingerspelled to them. It was believed that this was due to the fact that children were exposed to manual letters through fingerspelling and printed letters through reading and had made a connection.

But did hearing children experience the same results?  Yes they did and this was confirmed in more recent sign language research.

A researcher in this field, Dr Marilyn Daniels highlighted that sign language increased the verbal vocabulary as well as knowledge of sight words, letters of the alphabet and phonetic sounds for pre-schoolers. She concluded that a preschooler’s vocabulary can be improved if vocabulary is presented visually, kinesthetically as well as verbally. This research also highlighted that not only did the kids find using sign language fun and engaging; it also helped them retain the information for a longer period of time.  This is because signing uses both the left and right hemisphere of the brain and uses a variety of learning styles including verbal, visual and kinesthetic.

Signing and singing songs with preschoolers is a fun and educational way to use sign language with your pre-schooler.  How many children do you know who love to do the actions to songs such as “Incy Wincy Spider”, “The Wheels on The Bus” or “Twinkle Twinkle”?  By introducing the signs in songs and nursery rhymes, research highlighted that children had the largest increase in vocabulary when compared to their non-signing counterparts.

Even if your child has not learned sign language as a baby or a toddler, it is not too late.  Don’t let this in any way stop you from introducing them to signing as a pre-schooler. When you begin signing to your baby, you are providing them with a tool to communicate while they are pre-verbal.  With toddlers parents use sign language for a variety of reasons including language development, vocabulary building, toilet training, teaching manners  and also for fun.   For pre-schoolers, parents use signing for a number of reasons.  These include vocabulary expansion, enhanced language skills, development of reading skills and the learning of core educational concepts such as the ABCs, Rhymes, Colours, Numbers and more.

So to get started as a parent, I would introduce your child’s favourite 5-10 words with sign and then also introduce an additional 5-10 words with signs to their vocabulary.  You can combine these signs to make small sentences which will help with their language development.  You can also start teaching them the ABC’s and introduce the AUSLAN alphabet.

Here is a video of a young girl practicing her alphabet using Auslan which is very cute:

Whether they are a baby, toddler or pre-schooler, your child’s development can be transformed through the simultaneous use of signed and spoken language.

Let me know how you have found signing with your toddlers after using sign with them as a baby.

Did you keep it up?  Or did you just let the signs drop off as they got older and began to get more verbal.

If you did maybe now’s the time to think about taking it back up again to help your child’s early learning or if you haven’t started yet and you baby is talking it’s still not to late to get the wonderful benefits of using sign with your little one

It’s all go some days.

Yesterday was an early morning flight to Melbourne to appear on The Circle and today we’re getting ready for this weekend Sydney Baby and Toddler show.

If you missed The Circle yesterday you can check it out below and I hope that I’ll get to meet you in person at the weekend at the Baby and Toddler Show

Just to let you all know that tomorrow morning on Channel 10, Baby Hands will be on the tv show The Circle.

I will be featured on a Parenting Panel with Jo Ryan and Gerald Quigley.

The segment will be at 11:05am tomorrow morning (Tuesday 27th September).  During the segment we will each get to discuss our top tips on our topic of expertise and also answer some audience questions.

Tune in tomorrow if you are home!

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.

When I refer to motivational signs in my book or dvd, I am referring to signs or words that your baby will find exciting, fun or interesting and will want them to learn more. Each baby is different and will find different things interesting and fun but what I have found is start slowly and only choose a couple of motivational signs to get started with (2 or 3). So if you only have 2 or 3 signs to choose from, what ones will make the most impact, result in a signing success story?

A friend of mine, Vanessa introduced Baby Hands baby signing to her son from 5 months of age. She introduced some of the common signs of milk, more, mum, dad and eat. She understood the importance of being consistent with her signing and signed each day and got Dad involved in the process too.

After a couple of months I got a deflated email from her wondering why it wasn’t working. I checked the signs she had introduced. I then asked her what her son liked, had fun at, got excited about. She instantly said books and when she reads a book to him. So she introduced the sign for book and within a couple of weeks, Vanessa had her first sign back and the signing explosion soon followed. Reading with your baby has many benefits including introducing and reinforcing baby signs with your child.

For all you mums and dads out there, the signs for mum and dad are great but they may not be as motivational as the sign for bath, book, teddy bear, music or any animal sign. Some parents think that introducing mum and dad signs may cover the motivational signs but for baby, this may not be the case.

As well as introducing your mum and dad signs, think of things your baby loved to do and try and also include those “fun” signs in your daily routine. This will make a massive difference to your baby’s signing journey and the time it takes for you to get your first sign back.

Another way to accelerate the signing process is to sing and sign and combine it with your motivational or “fun” signs. Research has highlighted that singing and signing is great to help enhance your baby’s vocabulary. Does your baby like animals? If so, why not try singing “Old MacDonald” and sign the animal you choose to include. This is simple, fun and something easy you can do regularly with your baby.

So to recap, choose your motivational signs wisely. Think fun, exciting things that your baby loves and introduce those signs. Introduce them through your routines of the day, through play time by singing and signing or at bed time with a story. Stick to your 5-6 signs and be consistent and it won’t be long before you too are sending me your own baby signing story. I look forward to receiving it! ☺

Calling all Sydney Parents and Soon-To-Be Parents!

The countdown is on to the Sydney Baby & Toddler Show which is being held from 30th September to 2nd October at the Sydney Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour.

Come and visit myself and the Baby Hands team at stand # D76.  We will have lots of information on our products and classes and will be having a special show discount on our Parents Baby Signing Pack!

I will also be presenting each day on the Bio Oil stage at 3:00pm where I will be answering all your baby sign language questions.

The Baby & Toddler Show will be a fantastic day out with amazing toddler entertainment, loads of “show only” offers and quality advice from leading experts. Get your friends, family and mothers groups together and lock the date in your diary!

To encourage you to come and see us at the show, we are giving away a FREE TICKET valued at $20.00 with the next 50 NSW orders from our online store from today.

Alternatively purchase your early bird ticket for the event and receive 25% off the door price, VIP entry to the Show from 9am, plus a bonus entry to win the brand new Volvo V60! Buy NOW!

We hope to see you in person at the Sydney Baby & Toddler Show

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!

Calling all Brisbane Parents and Soon-To-Be Parents!

The countdown is on to the very first Brisbane Baby & Toddler Show which is being held from 2nd – 4th September at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre Southbank.

Come and visit myself and the Baby Hands team at stand # E35.

I will also be presenting each day on the Bio Oil stage at 3:00pm where I will be answering all your baby sign language questions.

The Baby & Toddler Show will be a fantastic day out with amazing toddler entertainment, loads of “show only” offers and quality advice from leading experts. Get your friends, family and mothers groups together and lock the date in your diary!

To encourage you to come and see us at the show, we are giving away a FREE TICKET valued at $20.00 with the next 50 Queensland orders from our online store from today.

Alternatively purchase your early bird ticket for the event and receive 25% off the door price, VIP entry to the Show from 9am, plus a bonus entry to win the brand new Volvo V60! Buy NOW!

We hope to see you this in a couple of weeks at the very first Brisbane Baby & Toddler Show

The better than ever Baby and Toddler Show is happening next month in Brisbane at the Exhibition Center on the 2nd to the 4th of September.

I will be there all weekend along with our Sunshine Coast Baby Sign Teacher Yuki on stand number E35, we would love to see you pop by.

I will also be talking as part of the shows expert speakers on stage at 3pm each day

This show just keeps getting better and better so if you want the latest baby brands and some great toddler entertainment make sure you come along and get your early bird tickets to save 25% off the door price.

Check out all the information on the main Baby and Toddler show site for:

• Attractions – the overview of whats on at the weekend
• Show Schedule – whats happening and when
• Live Entertainment – keep the kids amused throughout the day
• Competitions – win some great prizes

If you need help with directions or information on getting there visit the Brisbane Exhibition Center site here for more information.

Hope to see you there in a few weeks