Introducing practical conceptual signs, such as “More”, “Please” and “Thank You” can be quite difficult.  It just isn’t the same as introducing a sign for “Book”.

With a book, or any other object you have something tangible that’s there to show your baby so they can relate to the sign, the word and the whatever the object might be.

So when we come to introducing a sign such as “More” we need to be a little bit creative so I want to give you some ideas on things you can do around your daily routine and also games to help introduce “More” to your baby.

First Things First:

Now my first recommendation is that before you try and introduce the more sign for something make sure that they understand what the thing is you are trying to get them to sign “More” for.

For example, if you want to teach your child how to sign for “more – milk” but they haven’t grasped what the sign for milk is first then they could get confused that the “More” sign is actually the sign for milk.

Don’t worry, this isn’t an absolute rule that you have to follow.  But if you are struggling to introduce conceptual signs making sure that your child understands the other signs first can help to give them a little clarity that when you sign “More” you are signing about the object, not specifically the object.

Ideas For Introducing The “More” Sign:

With each of the ideas below if your baby does the sign for more while playing any of these games respond with praise and make sure you give them “more”.

1. Mealtimes.
   This is one of the most common times for using “more” so introducing it around food should be one of the easiest ways to introduce.  When feeding your baby put a little less than you know they may normally eat into their bowl and when it is gone sign “more” and bring out ” more – food”.  As Sue Ellen mentioned in her comment to “3 Ways To Introduce Baby Sign” you should not restrict your baby’s food, you are just using this as a way to introduce a concept before giving them their normal amount of food in stages.
2. Using Blocks.
   Building blocks are one toy that nearly all children have.  So try building a small tower with your child.  Keep some of the blocks hidden away until you need them to complete the tower and when you run out sign “more” and retrieve them from there secret hidey hole before you carry on building the tower.
3. Using Bubbles.
   All children love bubbles and because they disperse so quickly there is always a need for “more” bubbles.  Blow out a few and then say the word and do the sign “more” before blowing out the next set.  As they disappear continue to sign “more” while blowing out each set of bubbles and try to encourage the children to sign “more” before you do so.
4. Reading Stories.
   When you are reading with your baby each new page or chapter to the story presents the opportunity to use “more”.  As you get to the end of the page say “more” and sign before turning the page, again trying to encourage your child to do the sign as well.  This is definitely one you may want to take care with though at bedtime to avoid any temper tantrums if they still want more at the end of the story and don’t want to go to sleep.
5. Riding Activities.
   These can be anything from riding on Dads knee, to a game of Horsey or playing on the swings in the park.  The important thing here is to play the game and while they are excited and enjoying it pause for a second, say and sign “More” and then carry on with the game.  They will soon get the idea that the sign for “more” means more fun!
6. Drawing and Painting.
   The simple act of drawing a line can easily be turned into an opportunity to sign more.  Just begin drawing a line along a sheet of paper with your baby, you can even get them involved holding the pencil.  Stop as you go and then say and sign “more” before continuing on.

These are just a few ideas for early learning and how you can introduce the concept of “More” to your baby.  I’m sure you can come up with many more around the daily activities that you do with your child.

By making sure that your are consistent with your signing and mix up your practical and motivational signs with your baby they will soon start to understand the more abstract signs.

And please let me know in the comments below if you have any special ways that you have found to introduce conceptual signs to your baby.

If you are in Albany and get the local paper the Albany Advertiser you can see Karina our Albany based baby sign teacher with her 18 month old son Micah in an article about her and how Karina started her journey into Baby Signing.

Karina has been running her classes for a few months in the Albany area but has been using baby sign with her own family and during her teaching of year 6 students for quite some time.

Check out the article in full below and if you would like more information about classes and times please contact Karina directly here.

Our newest baby sign teacher Avonna was recently asked to do a piece for Today Tonight in Adelaide.

I think Avonna did a wonderful job as she didn’t look at all nervous despite the fact that they were filming one of her very first classes, so well done Avonna.

You can check out the short clip below where parents are interviewed about their experience with baby sign as well as featuring some signing babies at various Baby Hands Classes.

If you would like to know more about Baby Hands Classes or contact any of our Baby Sign Teachers to find out more information about classes in your area you can contact them directly through the information on their page.

So, you have either heard of Baby Sign language and are trying to find out more about it or you just started using baby sign but you have had some doubts because once you told your friends/family/co-workers one of them told you it just doesn’t work and will delay your baby’s speech.

Naturally you want the best for you and your baby and you want to trust your friends advice but are they right?

There will always be skeptics with anything and even though baby sign is no longer new and certainly out of the “fad” stage there are still those people out there who through misinformation believe that baby sign is not a valuable skill to be teaching your baby.

How do you deal with the skeptics?

Firstly you should really find out what experience they have with baby sign.  Most of the people who don’t believe baby sign will work have never tried it themselves.

Or, if they did it is very common to find out that all though they “tried using baby sign” what they actually did was copy a couple of signs they got told by a friend and after a few attempts at using them with their baby forgot about it and promptly claimed it didn’t work.

While baby sign is very simple to do the importance of repetition cannot be stated enough.  Baby’s learn through constant exposure to new things and soak them up like a sponge, but it takes time for baby’s to learn and develop new skills as their body develops.

What are the real facts about baby sign?

If you really want to know whether baby sign is worth trying with your baby then you need to know the real facts about baby sign.

1. Teaching a baby sign will take time.  Through repetition around your daily tasks however any baby can learn these simple signs.
2. You have to make it interesting for your baby by choosing signs they are interested in.
3. Using baby sign helps your child to develop fine motor skills and hand eye co-ordination.
4. Baby sign language has been shown to help reduce frustration and toddler tantrums.
5. Research has shown that babies who were taught sign may develop a higher IQ due to increased synapses (connections made) in the brain.
6. Using baby sign language can help enhance your baby’s speech development as a very important step in using baby sign is saying the word as you perform the sign.
7. By using Auslan (Australian Sign Language) you are teaching your child a second language and a useful skill that can be developed further.
8. Baby sign language can be used to help introduce a range of things such as manners, toilet training, family values, reading books and developing your baby’s own ideas and skills.

These are just some of the main reasons why using baby sign can be so beneficial to parents and baby’s as it gives you an eye into your baby’s world before they are able to speak, helping you to bond even more with your child.

There will always be critics for anything but all the studies and research on baby sign have shown positive outcomes.

Beyond all the research the hundreds of stories we have received from some of our 20,000 parents to date around Australia who are using Baby Hands show the positive effect that baby sign has had on so many families around the country.

So get started with baby sign today and find out why using baby sign really is the best second language

After all the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Expos that we have done over the years we are finally coming to Perth

This years Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo in Perth will be the first one that we have ever attended so I hope that you will come along and say hello.

I will be on the stand all weekend as well as our Albany based baby sign teacher Karina.  So if you would like to come along and have a chat to me or Karina and find out exactly what Baby Hands classes are all about then this will be a great opportunity.

We’ll be on stand E40 which is pretty much in the middle of the main hall. Just follow the signs at the top of the stands to read the numbers.

To make sure that you can come along you can get free tickets the Perth PBC Expo from their website here or by clicking on the image above.  Make sure you get these and print them out as tickets are $12 on the day.

When is it on?

Friday 13 to Sunday 15 August 2010
Open: Friday 10am – 4pm (last admission 3pm)
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm (last admission 4pm)

Where is it at?

Claremont Showgrounds Exhibition Centre, Claremont
click here for more details

What can you do there?

The Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo always bring together a wide range of the latest pregnancy and parenting related products all under one roof so you can get the answers to everything you need.

You will get expert advice and free family entertainment for the kids with Dorothy the Dinosaur on stage at 11am, 12pm and 1pm daily as well as a baby animal farm and activity areas by Gymbaroo.

Your free ticket will allow you to re-enter the expo for the whole weekend so you can come along and take it all in and decide waht you would like and make a second trip back on the Saturday with your re-entry to pick up any items you would like.

Hope to see you there.

The most common question I used to get asked was “Wont using baby sign delay my baby’s speech?”

Baby sign has now become very common since I first started Australian Baby Hands over 5 years ago (which is now in over 20,000 homes around Australia) and many people are aware of the research and studies that show baby sign actually helps to promote language development, not inhibit it.

Also many more people these days have a personal experience of baby sign and have seen the benefits.  The number of people these days who I meet who tell me about their friend, neighbor or relative who used baby sign with their baby and how they saw the benefits of communication that they received with that child baby sign has become much more mainstream.

Nowadays the most common question I get asked is “When will my baby sign back?”

This is definitely much harder question to answer since all children are different and will develop at their own rate.  There are some common developmental milestones for baby’s that can be used as a guideline for when they are physically able to sign.  However being physically able to sign and wanting to sign are two different things.

Last month we looked at 3 ways to introduce signing but this month I want to explain the importance of consistency and making sure you pick a sign that your baby is interested in.

I really thought about this because this weekend we had some friends of ours come over with their young son Max.

We hadn’t seen Max since he was around 4 months old and he is now 18 months so his parents were very proud to tell us how much of a great little signer he was and to show off his signing skills to us.

As we sat having morning tea Max used his signs consistently to ask for his toys, more to eat, his mum as well as signing a whole repertoire of words from his favourite books.

As he was signing from his book his Father told me how they had nearly given up on the signing as they had signed to Max from 5 months until 11 months of age and not seen any result until one day they realised how much Max liked books.

As soon as they started using the sign for book every time they read to Max he very quickly picked up the sign book and started to use it all the time when he wanted a book,  This quickly transferred to Max realising that when he signed for a book, he got a book and he very quickly picked up other signs.

Their personal experience of seeing the difference in Max’s temperament in comparison to other children that regularly tantrum as they cannot explain what they need made my friends extremely glad that they had been consistent and not given up on the signing.

Also finding that balance between motivational and practical signs for Max was critical to him succeeding in using sign once he realised that sign could be used to get things he was interested in, not just what his parents wanted.

So, back to the question of when will a baby sign?

The physical ability to sign begins at around 5 – 6 months, once they can hold a toy or rattle or wave their hands around with some control.

The most important thing is to be consistent and find signs for something that your baby is interested in, not just you.  Signing must be fun for them or they are just not as likely to take the signing on board as quickly so by using signs that they are interested in you are likely to see results much sooner.

The more consistency that you can keep to with your baby the better as well.

Start of with just a few signs so that you are not overwhelmed with having to try and remember to many signs to begin with.  That way you are much more likely to remember to use them consistently.  As these key signs become second nature you can start to introduce more.

If your baby is looked after by other people in childcare or relatives then try to get them to use the signs as well.  The more exposure that that your baby has to these signs the better.

Also do check if your baby is in childcare and they are already using baby sign that they are using Auslan and not American Baby Sign.  Most people are now aware that Auslan is the same sign language as the deaf community in Australia and the same sign language that all Australian Baby Hands products are accredited to but there are still some American baby sign products being sold within Australia.

Remember, every baby has the ability to sign.  It is just a matter of time if you keep with it and follow these simple steps.

Happy Signing

Jackie

Come along and see us at this years Brisbane Pregnancy, Babies and Children Expo at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank.  (See below for your FREE tickets)

From Friday the 18th of June to Sunday 20th the PBC is the place to go to find out everything you need to know about your baby.

There will be lots  of fun things for the kids to do as well as the latest products and innovations related to pregnancy, babies and children all under the one roof.

We will be there at stand C22, just in on the left hand side near the rest area and parents room.  We would love to see you there and for anyone interested in becoming a baby hands teacher this is a great opportunity to come along and have a chat with us face to face and find out what our baby sign classes are all about.

When:

Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June 2010
Open: Friday 10am – 4pm (last admission 3pm)
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm (last admission 4pm)

Where:

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank
See here for more details

Tickets:

(This is the cost on the door on the day, but you can get free tickets from the link below so make sure you print them out and bring them along.)

Adults: $14   Pensioners: $10
Children under 14: FREE

Download your free tickets from here – Admit One Adult Free

Hope to see you over the weekend

Through many of the previous posts in our blog we have looked at the benefits and reasons for introducing baby sign and also the much asked question “Does baby sign delay speech”? In this post I want to share with you three specific ways to help you introduce baby sign with your baby.

Its important to use a mix of motivational and practical signs for best results with your baby to ensure that they are interested in what it is you are signing about to start with.

So with that in mind let’s take a look at three great ways to use baby sign with your little one;

1 – Reading Stories:

Young children love books and reading with your baby is a great way to introduce sign. It introduces many of the key concepts of signing with speech and related actions.

Use age appropriate books for your child and as you go through the story you can sign key words, animals or characters to your baby and ask them to copy you and sign them back.

Top things to remember here are:

1. Use age appropriate books with your child
2. Try to find books that have repetitive language such as nursery rhyme books
3. Point out the images and say and sign the word together.
4. Encourage any attempt by your baby to sign and also use that as a way to expand the conversation about the topic further.

For more information visit Reading With Your Baby

2 – Introducing the “More” Sign:

Mealtimes are a perfect time to introduce the More sign.

When you feed your child try putting a little less out on the plate than you know they would normally eat. When everything has been cleared from the plate then you can do the sign for More and bring out more food and add it to their plate for them.

If you can do this 3 or four times at each meal sitting with an extra spoonful each time they will soon get the idea that this sign results in More food and begin to do the sign themselves as they want more.

You can also introduce this concept with bubbles as kids love bubbles and they are easy to consistently reproduce more and more of.

After each time you have blown some bubbles make sure that you child is paying and attention (and has been enjoying the game) and then do the sign for More as well as saying the word before blowing more bubbles.

Kids love this game and never seem to tire of running around chasing bubbles so say the word,do the sign and then start trying to get them to copy you and as soon as they do reward them with more bubbles.

3 – Toilet Training:

Getting your child out of nappies as soon as possible might be a priority for you (it’s not for everyone) but if it is then teaching your child to sign when they want o go to the toilet can save you a lot of nappy changing time.

Toilet training a child is very like baby sign as it takes consistency and routine to get it working so to start of with here are a few of the key things you should do;

1. Have a routine of when they will start using the potty, ie first thing in the morning when waking, after breakfast, before going down for a nap.
2. Precede each potty trip by using the sign for Toilet and saying the word, make sure you explain to your child what is happening.
3. Don’t make them stay on the potty to long but if they do go while they are on there make sure you give them lots of praise and reward them with a sticker chart or other such items
4. Remember accidents will still happen so be prepared.

For more information on how to get started visit here Toilet training and what you need to know.

We just got emailed today about an interview I did while at The Baby Show in Sydney last September for CNN en Español.

Check out the video clip below, I’m featured at just slightly over halfway through and completely dubbed in Spanish so I’m not exactly sure what I was saying.

If anyone who speaks Spanish and can understand my interview section could put a translation in the comments below I would really appreciate it.

Jackie

Something that a many parents don’t understand when trying to introduce baby sign is the  importance of ensuring that you have a balance of motivational and practical signs for your baby.

Practical words are the ones that will help you as a parent to understand what it is that your baby wants such as eat, drink, change, pain, sleep etc and reduce those toddler tantrums.

While these are great for you as a parent as understanding when your child needs to be changed or if they want to go to the toilet when you are trying to toilet train them or any other task that makes your life easier as a parent these words may not be so interesting for your baby.

Your baby obviously finds eating and drinking important but these might not be great motivators for them. So if you are trying to introduce baby sign to your child and not seeing a great response consider the following;

Are the words that you are introducing ones that you are interested in or is your baby interested in these things to?

If your baby isn’t really interested in food/mealtimes then trying to get them to sign the word eat is going to be a tough word to start with.

The important thing with baby sign is for your baby to initially make the connection between signing and results.

So if they like their Teddy and they do the sign sign Teddy make sure that you give them their Teddy and then they can connect the fact that their movement/signing resulted in them getting something they wanted.
This is the breakthrough you need if you find that your signing efforts are not paying off as well as you had hoped.

Once your baby connects their signing action with results it is far easier to introduce other practical words.
So make sure that you mix up practical signs that you want your baby to do with motivational signs that they are interested to start with.

Make a short list of the things your baby is interested in such as their teddy, blanket, ball or a book and make sure that you mix those words in with your practical sign words while following the 10 steps to signing success and you will see great results in your communication.

Happy Signing