How to really connect with your bub through baby signing

-
How does your infant or toddler let you know what they want before they can speak?
Crying is one way but mismatch of needs can lead to frustration for parents and children.

A popular way to help communicate is to use baby signing, not to be confused with sign language, because it is for anyone to learn and use.
From 6 months, babies can babble. But they don’t learn to string more than a couple of words together until 2 years old. That is a long time to not be able to express what you want.

Babies as young as 7 months can learn to express their needs using signs: all they need to do is start with pointing, also called
gesturing. Once they can do this, you can use simplified signs combined with words to cue specific emotions, desires or objects.


There have been many studies to see whether baby signing increases cognitive development and language skills but what they have shown is that it can lead to a more positive bond and interaction between parent and child.

There are lots of media resources to find out about baby signing with only a few that are actually backed by research with measurable outcomes. But the good news is that there doesn’t appear to be much difference between them in terms of outcomes. One of the resources we used in our house was My First Signs because it is a board book and you can read it with your child. Choose one that appeals to you or make up your own.

from http://talkingtalk.co.za/baby-sign-language/
Examples of signs:
Eat – fingers together on one hand, placed or tap at lips
More – fingertips together and tap them several times
All done – swipe hands in front of you, cutting to the sides
(the most useful and fun for us - like doing a hand jive)


Steps to Signing:
1.     Make sure bub is not tired and is focused on you
2.     You can choose signs from books, apps, videos or make your own but be consistent in what sign it is and how it is used
3.     Repeat signs often
4.     Encourage and watch for bub to sign back, rewarding with enthusiasm and repeating.
5.     You got it! Now add more signs in as needed.



By E K Wills
Author and Mum

https://www.amazon.com.au/Mums-Word-Secret-Diary-Mother-ebook/dp/B06X6B5SCC

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you deal with death?

-
Image
and how to introduce the concept to your kids by EK Wills © acrylic of Bondi Beach by EK Wills This holiday period has been a mixture of good times and learning experiences. Our friends visited from overseas after not having seen them for many years and all of our kids got along famously plus Sydney did not disappoint with scorching temperatures set to sizzle a tourist and Aussie alike. But both of these occurrences provided opportunity to learn about the often taboo topic of mortality. Firstly, our visitors openly discussed the recent treatment for breast cancer of our close friend. She is unusually practical and grounded so able to talk freely about her experience. During the whole ordeal, they had openly involved their 12 and 13 year old girls in the process so they knew what was happening and what their mother was experiencing. When she lost her hair due
Read more

10 Tips To Improve Your Wellbeing

-
Image
  by E K Wills The following tips may be a challenge to practice all of them at once. To help make it more effective, try one a day for the next week while taking note of the last three points every day. ©   artwork by Coco Reid 1.   Research shows that about 80% of our thoughts have some degree of negative content.. But try singing those thoughts and see if it has the same impact! Try the tune of Jingle Bells or Happy Birthday! 2.   The mind loves telling stories: it never stops. Give it a name to distance yourself from it, like the “I can’t make anything change” story. When you try to ignore it or make it positive, or tell yourself a better one (like “I am abundant”), it doesn’t usually work in the long run.  The problem is not the negative story but the fuse you put to it, reacting like it is the truth. Rather acknowledge that ‘this is the story’. 3.   We don’t choose most of the thoughts in our head: especially the unhelpful
Read more

Thank you!

-
Image
The art of accepting a compliment I’ve never been good at taking compliments but like to give them freely. Even when I consciously say to myself that I will try and accept them, someone will give me a sneaky compliment and I mumble some excuse to negate it. Like last weekend when a colleague asked me my secret to a youthful appearance, I muttered something about my Chinese heritage and quickly changed the subject. But I have one friend who is very good at accepting compliments and I realised that it makes you feel good to give when they are received enthusiastically. Luckily, after my last fumble, I was more prepared when another friend commented on my appearance today and I replied “Thank you!” in a gregarious manner. Newton's cradle We need to be able to give and receive compliments. If you think of it like Newtons’ Law: to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The pendulum swings back and balances opposing forces. If it doesn’t swing b
Read more