Welcome to our Baby Signs Blog!

Everyone at the Baby Signs home office was thrilled to see all the comments in response to our contest! We especially loved reading about favorite products. My own personal favorite is BeeBo, our teaching puppet. I remember the very first set of 10 BeeBos we created in Susan Goodwyn's (co-founder with me of the Baby Signs Program) living room. We had purchased 10 big Teddy Bears, 10 sweatshirts, and 10 sets of gloves at Walmart. We then had to cut all the bears' arms off and cut wholes in the backs of the sweatshirts so that the human's arms could become BeeBo's. It was quite an assembly line! Even those first make-shift BeeBos were a big hit--and the rest, as they say, is history.

Happy Signing!
Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

BeeBo then . . . and today!

Reflections on Being a Grandma

I wrote a few days ago about my new twin grandbabies and how I’m taking care of little Nathan during the nights as Mom and Dad (Jim and Julie) struggle with Olivia’s feeding issues and colic. In the process, I’ve noticed something astounding about myself. Normally I am a multitasker extraordinaire and feel very impatient about “wasting time.” I can’t even watch TV without doing something else—even if it’s a jigsaw puzzle! In sharp contrast, I can hold little Nathan for hours--feeding him, burping him, looking into his eyes, and just cuddling--and the time whizzes by! It’s such a lovely, lovely feeling! I’m sure I felt the same way 23 years ago with my own children—but maybe not. Maybe the relief of being a grandparent rather than the “one in charge” lowers the anxiety level--and the work load--just enough to allow pure sensations of love to reign supreme. I wonder. . .

Happy Signing!
Grandma Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, The Baby Signs Program

Two Future Baby Signs Babies!

I’m a bit tired these days—but a happy tired. My step-son, Jim, and daughter-in-law, Julie, finally have both their twin babies home from the NICU (known as the “nick-you” by parents of premies). They were born at 31 weeks and just over 3 pounds each and had to stay in the hospital for several months. Because the little girl, Olivia, is still having some feeding issues, I’ve been taking care of the little boy, Nathan, at night since they both came home about 10 days ago. Fortunately, he’s a great eater even if he doesn’t have the sleeping part down yet. I'm delighted to say, however, that he's even adorable at 2AM (and 4, and 6 AM)! My husband, Grandpa Larry is pitching in, too. He loves to cook, so he’s been bringing dinner for all of us every night.

You can bet I’ll be modeling signs—starting with SLEEP and PLEASE!

Anybody out there have experience with newborn twins? How have you coped? Have they used baby sign language with each other? I can't wait to see for myself!

Happy Signing!
Grandma Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
The Baby Signs Program

One Family's Baby Signs Experience

When I visit a blog myself, I often read the main entry but only rarely follow through and also read the comments. Because anyone doing that here would miss the wonderful comment contributed by Shawna about her daughter's enchanting experience with baby sign language, I've decided to just go ahead and reiterate Shawna's comment myself. I think you'll see why the word "enchanting" fits so well!

Shawna said...
"I was thinking more about how signing went beyond meal times and really impacted our lives. There are three specific things that came to mind.

One is related to the "decrease in tears and tantrums", HELP. When Madison learned to sign HELP she would work on something, a puzzle or climbing a step, and I would wait for her to sign HELP before stepping in. I learned quickly to do this because it allowed her to ask when she was ready for help and avoided a potential "fit" because she wanted to do it. While she doesn't sign it, I know she asks for help when she needs it because the concept was taught to her so early.

Second are the comments I have received about how polite Madison is. Folks are so surprised when she signs/says THANK YOU, PLEASE, YOU'RE WELCOME. We started these signs when she was only 6 months old at the end of each Sign Say and Play class. Once they took hold, they were there to stay. It warms my heart now when she says "Tissue Please" or we are playing and I hand her something and she says "Thanks". Waitresses are always commenting when they ask her something, not even thinking she is old enough to speak and she says "Yes Please" unprompted. She is articulate and polite because of signing.

Third is my favorite. I think the feelings signs we learned in the first class of More Sign Say and Play have taught her to have compassion for others. The feelings and the colors taught in that first class are my all time favorite, while the most difficult for us to master, once we did, we had a great time exploring our world with them. At a mere 11 months old while flying on an airplane she heard a baby crying and immediately looked worried, signed CRYING BABY and wanted to stand up and look around for him. Now at 21 months she extended this compassion to a pinata at a birthday party. She was not pleases that the kids were beating up this perfectly pink tiara and while she had no idea there was candy involved, she cried when they finally busted it open, not from fear but from being upset. She kept saying "Broke it" over and over. She picked it up and tried to put it back together. She showed more compassion for this object than some people do for other people. I am so PROUD (She loves this sign too especially during potty time)

I am so very proud of her, proud that we were able to experience this signing adventure with our Baby Signs Instructor Beth Roland. Madison still signs everyday even though she can say everything she can sign now. At 12 months she had over 150 signs and wasn't speaking much. Boy when the words came they flooded in and now she is a chatterbox. Sometimes we play a game where I do the sign and she says the word. It is fun. Sometimes she will just out of the blue do a sign she never did as a baby, like DADDY. She started saying it before she was able to sign it so we stopped that one. Then one day I went in her room and she signed DADDY. I LOVE YOU took a long time too, difficult I think, but we never stopped that one and she finally got the pinky involved!

I sure wish I had more videos. I do know that seeing is believing because 3 families have already done the SSP classes because of seeing Madison (one in a restaurant, a lady came up to me and said "Are you talking to her? Is she talking to you? I explained what we were doing and how and she signed up that very week!) and three more are planning to when the babies get older.

My Dad thought we were crazy when we started but when he was able to actually talk to her about things she was interested in, butterflies, birds, trucks, worms, colors, he was hooked!

I am a believer for sure and appreciate this opportunity to share my story with you. Thank you so very much for all your dedication and research and passion for our babies. Your work has truly impacted the relationship I have with my only child.

Sincerely, Shawna and Madison"

Now, wasn't that lovely?
Happy Signing!

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
The Baby Sigsn Program

Baby Sign Language in Action!

A few days ago (Monday 7/20/09 is be exact) I wrote about the wide variety of signs that babies use—that they love to communicate about lots more things beyond wanting more milk or being hungry. Several parents responded with lovely examples from their own experiences with the Baby Signs Program, including Baby Madison using signs to indicate that she understood that it was too COLD to go OUTSIDE and, therefore, not pitching a fit when Mom said she had to wait until later. I really love stories like this one because they demonstrates how baby signing enables two minds—the baby’s and the parent’s—to meet, if you will, on an even playing field and achieve an understanding. No wonder the most frequent advantage parents mention is a decrease in tears and tantrums.

Madeleine, another mom, included a link to her own blog where she not only describes in words some of her daughter Darcy’s fun times with signs, but also a wonderful video of Darcy signing. I love the video because it shows lots of different contexts in which signing occurs—mealtime, book reading, “out and about” with a great hat on! Over the years I’ve learned that many people don’t “get it” about baby sign language until they see it in action. That’s why videos like these are so valuable. Thanks Madeleine!

I’d love to hear more stories and see more videos. We need to PROVE it's not just "parlor tricks" for babies!

Happy Signing--

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
The Baby Signs Program

Baby Sign Language—A Boon to Multilingual Households

One of the most frequent questions I get is the following: “My baby is exposed to two languages at home. Won’t adding the Baby Signs Program just make her task more complicated by adding a third?”

The answer is a strong and resounding “No!” The truth is that, no matter what form bilingual input takes, adding signing to the mix actually makes the child’s job easier, not harder. Here’s why.

In a bilingual household, babies hear two words being used to label objects, and what they need to figure out is that both words are equally valid—in other words, that they mean the same thing. For example, if a baby hears both the word “leche” and the word “milk,” he or she needs to understand that the words are equivalent.

And that’s where signing becomes helpful. Quite simply, signs act as mediators between the languages, making the equivalence of words obvious to the baby. For example, when the baby hears “leche” from Mom and “milk” from Dad and both parents pair the word they say with the MILK sign, the parents are making the job of connecting the object with the meanings of both words much easier for babies.

In other words, rather than confusing your bilingual child, baby sign language will help smooth the road to understanding and speaking both spoken languages.

Happy Signing!

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder,
Baby Signs Program

A Window into the Infant Mind

Much to my delight, the good news about baby sign language has spread far and wide—especially in contrast to how few people knew anything about it when Dr. Susan Goodwyn and I published our first article about babies and signing in 1985.

I do find, however, that many parents and child care providers focus almost exclusively on the signs around mealtime—like EAT, DRINK, MILK, MORE, ALL DONE. What a shame! Yes, babies want and need to communicate these things, but many of them are even more interested in communicating about the exciting things they see in the world around them.

Babies want to tell those they love that they see a doggie, a bird, a butterfly, or a truck. They want to request to read a book, blow bubbles, or go outside. Providing babies with signs for these things, as we do in the Baby Signs® Program, gives them a chance to share their worlds with adults—and gives adults an amazing window into the infant mind.

Happy Signing!

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
The Baby Signs® Program

Baby Sign Language and Learning to Talk

By far the most frequently voiced concern about encouraging babies to use signs to communicate before they can talk is that doing so will slow down verbal development. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Baby sign language actually speeds up the process.

How do we know? With a grant from the federal government, Dr. Susan Goodwyn and I compared verbal development in babies using the Baby Signs Program with that of non-signing babies. In test after test the babies who signed were more advanced than the non-signers in language skills. (Click here to read the published study by Goodwyn, Acredolo & Brown, 2000.)

We really weren’t surprised because we had already observed the following ways in which baby signing spurs language skills.

1. Signing is to talking as crawling is to walking. In other words, just as crawling excites babies about getting around even faster by walking, the excitement of being able to communicate with signs motivates babies to figure out ways to communicate better—and the most obvious way is with words.

2. The experience of baby signing teaches babies useful lessons about how language works (like using symbols to label objects, etc.). These lessons speed up the process of learning to talk once 3. The natural reaction to a baby’s use of a sign is to “bathe” the child with words, and the more words a child hears, the faster he or she will learn to talk. What’s more, signs enable babies to pick the topic of conversation, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will listen attentively to the words parents say.

4. Every time a baby successfully uses a sign to label something, circuits in the brain are strengthened; circuits that then make learning words easier.

5. Signing makes book-reading more fun for babies because they can actively participate, and book-reading increases a baby’s exposure to vocabulary items.

So, the next time someone suggests that your use of the Baby Signs® Program is going to keep your child from talking, just smile knowingly, roll your eyes, and say “Oh, that old wive’s tale!”

Happy Signing!
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-founder, the Baby Signs® Program

Signing: A Priceless Gift for One Little Girl

Ever hear someone say, “Oh, signing---that’s just parlor tricks for babies. You say a word and they produce the sign. How is that any different from a dog who rolls over when you say the words?” Whenever I hear comments like this I know that that person has been around a signing baby enough to see the Baby Signs Program in action. So, what do I say in response? I tell them the following story

Heather, a Baby Signs instructor in Iowa, had a baby daughter who started using signs at about 10 months and became quite the signer by 14 months. It was at this point that the baby began to have what looked like severe temper tantrums. She would flail her arms and legs and twist her head back and forth, often falling to the floor. When Heather sought help, she was simply told that it was probably just the terrible-twos starting early. But then Heather noticed that each time her daughter had one of these “spells,” she would tap her index fingers together—the sign for HURT. That’s when Heather knew something serious was wrong—and she was right. Heather insisted that she see a pediatric neurologist who discovered that her daughter had Childhood Epilepsy! Fortunately, because it was diagnosed extremely early, she escaped any long term neurological problems and has done so well that she was spared long term medication.

Certainly doesn’t sound like “parlor tricks” to me! How about you?

Happy Signing!
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Baby Signs Program

GreenDaily.com on Green Potty Training

Ever wonder how potty training can be considered a "green" activity?
Read more at http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/27/baby-signs-potty-training/.

FREE Baby Signs Poster!

Download your FREE Baby Signs Poster today!

This poster features the sign for SLEEP and is ideal for use at home or in a childcare center. Here are some suggestions for use:

• Put your printed poster near baby's crib, cot or bed.
  
• Before bedtime or naptime, point to the poster and sign "sleep" to help your baby learn the sign.
  
• If you see your baby yawning before bedtime or naptime, make the sign and ask "Are you ready to go to sleep?"

Before you know it, your baby will be signing back to you!

Check out these 3 great Baby Signs home business opportunities

An Amazing Potty Training Success Story

Potty training is sometimes a frustrating eneavor. That's why I just have to share this inspiring email we received yesterday!
Linda Easton
Baby Signs, Inc.

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Hello There :

I bought the Baby Signs Potty Kit when my son was going to turn two .He already knew a bunch of different signs before I bought the DVD but I thought it would take him a couple of months or even more to start using the potty ... I am shocked he learned the signs for the first time he saw the video and started using the potty next day!

I cannot express how thankful I feel! After 2 weeks watching the DVD there were no more accidents and he uses both the potty seat and the toilet . Recently I went to the swimming pool with him and he used the public bathroom 4 times to go potty! My son does not talk yet so this video was extremely helpful.

Nathan was born in June 5, 2007 and he is a diaper free baby!!!!

I would also like to mention how much he likes the rewarding stickers! I bought some extra ones and he LOVES getting them.

Thank you again,

-Karina K.