When I was young teenager I was a nanny for different families and kids of all different ages. I always loved the idea of being a mommy and so I would watch how parent interaction would effect their children. I would watch how overly attentive moms that made a huge deal about a small fall, or a fuss would create a dramatic child. How parents that didn’t pay enough attention created a child who would act out to get that attention, etc. Every child is different but one thing was for sure, it boiled down to the parent and how well they understood their children.
I love to survey – watch and learn how people operate and see what would work for me. So when I got pregnant I decided to ask lots of questions. No two babies are the same, all mommas have different gems of wisdom to share.
My daughter was very vocal, from the moment she made her grand entrance! She even hummed her self to sleep the first time she was in my arms. So when she started to getting to the point where she wanted to move and communicate I knew I had to look into baby sign. Teaching your child a way to communicate helps bridge the gap that can lead to tantrums and frustration. I had bought a small “Baby Sign ” for dummies book when I first found out I was pregnant , but honestly its just as easy to google search.
I started hand signals with my daughter when she was about 5 months old. I wasn’t sure when she would understand or start to communicate back. I think she was about 6-7 months when she started, the first time she signed back I almost through a party! First was Milk , then water , then thank you, more ( one of her favs) , daddy, please , again, all done, book . Now shes 14 months and using some small words. She understands that hand signals help her communicate. If there’s something shes trying to say I show her the hand signal and speak it slowly. Yesterday she added cat and dog in less than 5 minutes after a small amount of repetition. I believe this has given her a feeling of control and has cut that frustration all moms see when babies want to walk , talk and communicate like all the adults and the big kids around. So if your considering baby signing or just a using a few I highly recommend it. It makes life easier for you and your little munchkin.
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I’ve just started this with my baby and curious to see how we go. I’m hoping it might help her bridge the language gap between her dad and I also by matching a hand symbol to an activity whether the word be verbalised in English or Spanish. Best of luck!
Great idea! We had so much luck with it! It gets those neurons firing and puts them ahead!!