Know Exactly What Your Baby is Saying Using a Baby Sign-Language Dictionary!

By Nicole Wagner

Imagine your 9-month old child being able to tell you what he wants when he want it. Imagine all the time and effort your can save. Imagine the peaceful moments. Imagine communication. This is where baby sign language comes in. This is why using a baby sign language dictionary has become so popular in recent years.

Parents, daycares, preschools and child psychologists see the benefits of baby sign language as time goes by. Since communication is facilitated, the child throws fewer tantrums. It serves as an educational tool for the child to communicate clearly with his caregiver/s.

Many of the “terrible two’s” that children experience is a result of the child’s frustration of not being able to communicate the rage he feels. If the parents feel miserable, so does the child. Hence, anything that allows the child to exhaust his feelings is helpful.

Sign language also improves your child’s spelling skills. Since printed words are combined with gestures, word recall is increase, hence, giving your child a wider vocabulary. Phonetic sounds are also learned by the child because words are spoken while signing, along with pictures.

This early literacy allows children to have a head start in school, thus improving academic competency. Research supports children who used sign language performed better throughout their school years.

Children who know have acquired the skill of signing is similar to a child who learned another language. Sign language is a legitimate language and will give your child an additional edge when securing employment when he gets older.

Everyone also has different learning styles. Some are more visual, some auditory while others utilize both. Sign language offers both visual and auditory teaching that will cater to whatever your child needs. As the words are spoken, cards are also used so the child can hear and thus maximizing both pathways.

When I use a baby sign-language dictionary, I’m giving my child an extra way to express himself and adding to his sensory and motor development skills as well.

By communicating in this way, my child will also learn empathy at an earlier age. The thinking skills required will help improve his cognitive abilities.

Visit http://www.babysignlanguagedictionary.org for more information.

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Enjoy!

With the H1N1 swine flu virus looming on the horizon this cold and flu season, parents of infants and toddlers are on the lookout for signs of illness. But without the use of words, young children can’t tell their parents where it hurts. So when they are sick, parents are often in the dark. This year, child development experts, Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn are encouraging parents to prepare for cold and flu season by teaching their child how to communicate about illnesses – without the use of words.

“Babies can use their hands to communicate before they learn to talk. This means that if a baby makes the sign for “hurt” next to his neck or in front of his ear, his parents know that it’s time to take him to see his pediatrician,” Acredolo explains. “On the other hand, if he signs “hurt” next to his foot, his parents can check his shoes to see if they are the cause of the pain.”

Signs are useful for communicating about small discomforts and illnesses at home. Dominique Lannon Fiegel in Arlington, VA says “I used signs with my children and it helps a lot with illness. My son at 11 months was able to sign “hot” to say he was too hot, so we could take off layers of clothes. My daughter, now 24 months, will sign “hurt” and point to her stomach, letting me know she has a tummy ache. It also helps them understand better when someone else is sick, I can sign when daddy is sick, and they understand.”

But signs have also proven to be crucial in emergency situations. Brenda Greengold in Orlando, FL signed with her 14-month old son but didn’t realize how important it would be until he was admitted to the emergency room for lethargy, dehydration and a high fever.

“He needed fluids through an IV, and he was not cooperating. Finally, he succumbed. It broke my heart. After a while, he started to put his two index fingers together over and over. It was the sign for hurt. We had been working on this sign just a few weeks before, but I’d never seen him actually do it. I told him that I knew it hurt and it would be over soon, but he kept making the sign. Finally I reached over to check his IV and when I lifted the sleeve of his cover-up, to my surprise, his arm was twice the size of the other arm. The fluid was not reaching his vein, but was instead pooling in his arm under the skin. Although it wasn’t life-threatening, this was making my little boy extremely uncomfortable to say the least.”

Signs can also be useful in helping children understand and participate in healthy practices such as hand-washing. “In a day care center, germs can spread quickly. “This year with the threat of swine flu, it’s especially important to teach the sign for “wash” so children can initiate hand-washing even if their teacher or a parent forgets,” says Goodwyn. “The sign helps children take responsibility for good health practices.”

Acredolo and Goodwyn recommend that parents start now to teach health and medical signs to their babies to help them:

Report how they are feeling (HOT, COLD, SICK)
Explain where they are feeling pain (HURT)
Know what to expect during a visit to the doctor (HELP, DOCTOR, MEDICINE)
Understand when pain will end when getting an immunization (ALL DONE)
Communicate about health-promoting activities (WASH)

To see a video dictionary of these health and medical signs online, visit www.babysigns.com.

About Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn?Dr. Acredolo and Dr. Goodwyn have conducted over 30 years of scientific research in the field of infant development. Together, they have co-authored numerous publications in leading child developmental research journals and have written three best-selling books for parents:
Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk
Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love
Baby Hearts: A Guide to Giving Your Child an Emotional Head-Start
They are the co-founders of Baby Signs, Inc., a company dedicated to bringing the proven benefits of signing with hearing babies to families worldwide.

Contact:
Linda Easton-Waller?Director of Marketing?Baby Signs, Inc.
707-469-7406
lindae@babysigns.com
www.babysigns.com

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How to Increase the Bond Between a Parent and Their Baby Through Using Sign Language
By Nicole Wharton

Looking for great baby sign language resources? Click HERE!

A parent can never forget the first time they held their child. Seeing their baby look into their eyes and feel for the first time the bond with their child that will be unbreakable and will remain forever is a wonderful moment. Throughout a baby’s first few years that bond that was initially created is increased with events and interactions that the baby experiences with their parent. Using sign language with your child can only improve this vital bond.

Research has revealed that a child’s bond with their parent is improved with the more positive interactions that the child and parent experience together. As a child is attempting to get their needs met or attempting to convey something it can be somewhat difficult if they are unable to communicate through words. As a baby is able to use sign to appropriately have what they are thinking be understood by their parents then positive feelings and a sense of accomplishment is immediately felt by that child.

As the child is able to observe that their parent is able to understand them, then with a positive result of either praise or obtaining the item that was requested the child will experience a positive interaction with their parent. This positive interaction is what causes the bond that all parents have with their child to become stronger. The feeling of being able to effectively communicate with their parents can only bring about positive emotions within a child. The child will then recognize that they are being understood and the parent will see that the child will attempt to use signs more regularly with them because they know that their parent is able to understand them. With the absence of sign language then this experience would not be achieved.

Since children are able to start signing at seven months of age which allows both the parents and babies to experience even more positive interactions earlier in that child’s life. These positive communicative interactions are encountered earlier in age than those with verbal words. Since a child’s first words are usually spoken at one year of age then it is apparent that one can assume that the positive effects of being able to communicate through sign would be experienced at an earlier age. In turn the positive effect within that child will also generate a greater bond between the child and the parent within in the area of communication.

Nicole Wharton M.A.-SLP: Nicole Wharton is a California State Licensed Speech Language Pathologist. She has worked in the field for over six years while specializing in Early Childhood Intervention. Ms. Wharton has used sign language with her family and also with her clients who have had speech and language delays. She is a true advocate for the use of sign language with all babies due to the benefits early research has revealed and also from her own positive encounters.

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Click HERE to download the poster and click HERE to find more great resources for signing with your baby!

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