Last week we were featured on New Idea TV with a short segment on our baby sign classes.

Thanks so much to the parents who took part and of course your wonderful children.

Lena our Northern Beaches teacher did a great job and looks like a complete natural on the telly, a far cry from me and the nerves I felt when I did my first interview on Kerry-Anne several years ago.

As Lena points out the benefits from using baby sign are to help reduce frustration and tantrums for your little one while they are pre-verbal.  Lena also addresses the common misconception that using sign language with children will delay the speech process, when in fact the opposite has been found to be true, with signing children generally talking earlier and having a wider vocabulary range.

If you missed the segment of the show then you can view it below and hear what other parents have had to say about using baby hands and see children using sign in action during the class.

We would love to hear your feedback either on the program or from your experience of using baby sign so please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you would like to contact Lena or any of or other teachers about classes in your area please contact them via the contact us forms on their page.

If you would just like to get started in your own home then we have a range of baby sign products in our online shopping cart that are all easy to follow and can be implemented into your daily routines very easily.

Happy Signing

Jackie

So many people think when they hear “Baby sign language”, that this is something which I can use with my pre-verbal baby to assist with communication.  Baby sign language is a tool that can be incorporated into your home and used with both your young pre-verbal baby but also with their older siblings.

Children of all ages love to use their hands to communicate.  This can be seen when children sing “Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes” and they do the actions by pointing at the various body parts.  Lots of nursery rhymes such as “Incy Wincy Spider” allow children to be expressive with their hands while being verbal.  This is why children of all ages LOVE baby sign language.

So what is the benefit of introducing baby sign language to the older brothers and sisters of your pre-verbal baby, who are either partially or fully verbal?  Dr Marilyn Daniels, a professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State University, is an authority of studying the benefits of teaching sign language to children in preschool through to sixth grade. She encourages hearing children to become full participants in language and communication with their family and peers at a young age through the use of sign language.

Children in Dr Daniels studies were found to have benefited from signing in the following ways:
•    Improved their English vocabulary
•    Improved understanding of concepts
•    Number, letter & sound recognition
•    Reading readiness
•    Better spelling ability by teaching children to read using sign language.

Children are quick to pick up sign language and they can be helpful as you begin to introduce it to your pre-verbal baby.  I get many emails from the older brothers and sisters of pre-verbal children who know all 60 signs in the Australian Baby Hands book and are requesting to learn more signs so they can introduce it in their “news” story at school the next week or to their family or siblings.  Some children look on it as their own secret language that not everyone knows but it enables them to speak to their younger pre-verbal siblings.

So not only will baby sign language be fun with all the family involved, it will be beneficial for your baby as more people are signing to them and it will be easier and faster for them to make the connection of what is it you are trying to communicate. It is also a fantastic educational tool for all your children, your baby and their older brothers and sisters, assisting with their language, vocabulary, reading and spelling ability.

Start Sibling signing today!

As I mentioned in my last blog post I recently got selected to be one of ten local authors interviewed at Woollarah’s local writer festivals.

As promised I have put up the video of my interview for you here so you can see Irena Dunn interview on my book and ask me questions about baby sign language.

One very interesting thing was that straight away the first question Irena asked me was, “Can baby sign be used with hearing babies?”

It seems there’s still a big misconception out there that baby sign is for deaf babies or those with learning disabilities which is not true. As babies vocal chords don’t develop until around 18 months but their physical motor skills to be able to sign begin at around 6 months there is a large gap where children are able to communicate physically but not verbally. This is where baby sign can be so useful in all children’s lives helping to reduce frustration and break down the communication barrier.

Enjoy the video and I hope you like the impromptu sign demonstrations at the end.