Signing MORE

Signing for babies is very rewarding and
fun, but every parent wants to know which signs are the best
The most common sign that parents, who are not taking classes, choose to start signing
is MORE. Be aware-vague signs like MORE might be confusing and ineffective for
babies, as they are seen in a variety of contexts, and can produce different
results in each different context. For example, signing MORE might get them
more milk, more cookies, more toys, etc. But signing is more salient when
it produces specific results, and thus gets positive reinforcement.
Signing MORE can easily be just a nonspecific cry, since it can mean so many
different things. With signing, we would like to enhance speech and enlarge
vocabulary, and I suspect that signing MORE as the first sign can do just
the opposite.

 So what are the hallmarks of a great first baby sign?
Read it in our next blog...

Let the SignShine,
etel

Etel Leit, M.S. Founder & Owner www.SignShine.com 
Publisher   www.BabySignShine.com

Sign Language for Babies

Baby sign language is one of the most rewarding things by far that I have tried with my own children. There are many benefits that have been discovered in the scientific research, shared at classes and documented on websites however I want to share a few of the most special moments that signing has provided our family over the past 13 months. My story is fairly long so stay tuned over the coming weeks as I tell it...here is part 1.

Scarlette is 17 months old now and we introduced baby sign language to her at the age of 4 months. We understood that it would be a long time until she signed to us but we were keen to see her reaction nonetheless. What I didn't expect at this tender age was the feeling that she actually understood us.

It did take a couple of weeks but she would intently watch us, and eventually we get an indication that she actually understood that we were communicating with her. At this early age there was no way that she was going to have the muscle control or the dexterity to sign to us however there were some important things that we could tell her - for instance that it was time for a bath, time for milk or time for bed. This proved to be very beneficial in these early months.

In part 2 I will let you in on some of the major milestones as she discovered how to communicate with her little hands...to be continued.