Sign language for babies helps you and your precious little one to communicate. Let's face it, when your baby cries, do you instantly know what's wrong? No of course you don't, Mothers rarely do. On hearing our baby cry we run through a check list, trying to identify the underlying problem. Teaching your baby sign language would mean that you save valuable time trying to figure out what's wrong, and that means that you can meet your baby's need more quickly.

Baby sign language - Making life easier?

Imagine this scenario. Its around 3am, you are woken by your baby crying, as you rub your eyes and stumble sleepily into your babies room, you wonder what on earth could be wrong. He normally sleeps through. You get to your baby and check his nappy, you offer him a drink, you hand him his pacifier, all to no avail. Your baby still won't settle. You rub a little teething gel onto his gums, ahh that's the problem. The point is that by now, you and baby are both quite awake.

Wouldn't it be so much easier, if when you had first entered his room, he could have shown you the basic baby sign language for 'hurt' This would have saved time, you could have comforted your baby, used the gel and by now you would both be falling back to sleep.

Many parents believe that teaching baby signing will some how hinder their child's ability to learn to speak. Researchers disagree with this, a babies ability to actually talk will always be much slower than the ability to learn motor skills, and understand what people are saying to them. Your baby will naturally try to mimic your movements and hand signals, long before he can actually use words to describe what you're doing.

Baby sign language isn't just for the hard of hearing!

Dr Joseph Garcia (who is an American child development expert) discovered that babies of deaf parents seemed to be more settled and less demanding than than babies of hearing parents. Babies of deaf parents learned to sign as way of communication with their parents, often getting there needs met a lot quicker.

Although sign language for babies doesn't fall into place overnight, you will need lots of patience, but experts agree that teaching baby signing isn't really that hard. The benefits of teaching your baby to sign far outweigh the patience needed to start. Your baby should become less demanding, in turn your life as a mother will become less frustrating (now we could all do with that!)

Experts also agree that baby sign language can help your baby to become more confident and calm, and he will develop with higher levels of self esteem - as the communication lines with their parents are fully open. Parents instead of having to listen to their baby crying in frustration to get what they want, will know exactly what he wants because baby is signing it to them!

Baby signing - A sign of things to come?

Many parents are now turning to baby signing to help them have an easier time with their baby in day to day life. After all if we know what our baby wants, and we can tend to them straight the way, then everyone is happy. Parents normally start teaching their baby signing at around 8 months old, although some babies are known to sign significantly earlier (some as early as 6 months) Signing can be used with your toddler as well.