Baby Signs is Amazing: Guest post from Nicole Borza Koch

A Sacramento, CA mom felt compelled to share her thoughts about the Baby Signs Program on Facebook today. We enjoyed reading her signing story so much so we're sharing it with you.

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I feel compelled to write a testimonial because signing with Lily & specifically the Baby Signs program has totally changed our lives for the better!

We started signing to Lily as soon as she was born. We only knew about 10+ signs, but we would make them every time we could, especially signs like "milk". When Lily was 4 months old . . . she started signing "milk" when she wanted to eat! It was amazing! By the time she was 8 months old, she also knew "more", "hot", and "dog".

When Lily was 11 months old, we started our Baby Signs class. The class was amazing. In the babies eyes, the class is taught by Beebo, the Bear. What an ingenious idea! What a great way to capture their attention! Each child is given the spotlight during the class. We socialize, we sign, we sing, we play with toys, we read, we experience. It utilizes every possible method of learning and it WORKS! Within 1 week, Lily knew about 5 more signs. Now . . . she knows 40+ (I just counted the other day) and she's only 14 months old. She's talking also, so signing is definitely not a deterant for talking, but she makes her signs while she tries to say words.

Being able to communicate with her is SUCH a blessing. I love knowing that not only does she want to eat, but specifically that she wants cheese . . . or eggs . . . or milk. As a first time mother, being able to communicate so clearly with my child at such a young age is very comforting because I feel like I can truly meet her needs.

We have signed up for our second series of Baby Signs classes & we can't wait. Lily LOVES Beebo, the Bear. She doesn't watch any TV, except for her Baby Signs DVD. We have tried other shows like Sesame Street a few times, but she specifically askes for "Beebo . . . on!" She gets SO excited when the DVD comes on. She points & smiles & laughs & dances & signs. We also listen to our Baby Signs CD in the car. A few weeks ago, I was driving & tired, so I wasn't signing and singing like I normally do. I looked in our baby mirror & saw Lily concentrating very intently . . . and signing! Every word that a person was supposed to sign, she was!!! "Eat, eat, eat some food, eat some food, I say . . . "

Baby Signs is amazing! I HIGHLY recommend it to all parents of babies & toddlers :)

-Nicole

Thank you!

On behalf of Dr. Acredolo, Dr. Goodwyn and all of the staff at Baby Signs, Inc., we want to thank you for your endorsements of the Baby Signs story for our Shine A Light nomination. Our story received the required number of endorsements to move on to phase two of this small business award competition; however we were not selected for the final 3 contestants.

If you would like to vote for one of the three outstanding finalist, you can visit http://shinealight.ivillage.com/

Thank you for your continued support of the Baby Signs Program.

-Linda Easton-Waller
Director of Marketing,
Baby Signs, Inc.

How to Go Diaper-Free and Save $$ | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News Featured

Elimination Communication: Woman Teaching Moms How to Go Diaper-Free | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News Featured

Shared via AddThis

Endorse our story and help Baby Signs win!

We've been nominated for the American Express Shine A Light small business contest. You can help Baby Signs by endorsing our story!

How To Raise A Reader

Check out this great article from Parents.com featuring Dr. Linda Acredolo

By Kim Ratcliff

Settling into a comfy chair with your child to read a story is one of the best things about being a parent. And if you haven't already made reading a daily habit, you need to start now, since books benefit kids in so many ways. "First of all, reading with your child is a wonderful bonding experience," says Parents advisor Linda Acredolo, PhD, coauthor of Baby Minds. Your kid gets to bask in your undivided attention, which makes storytime truly magical. Reading every single day also helps your child learn to talk, expand her vocabulary, build her imagination, and get prepped for school. Our expert tips will get your child hooked on books for life.

Reading with Babies
You can't start the reading habit too early. At 3 to 6 months, your baby will be more interested in chewing her board books, but by the end of her first year, she'll probably pick out favorites.

What They Learn
When you turn pages with your baby in your arms, she'll associate books with snuggling. "As an infant, she's learning to value books because it means she gets to cuddle with her mom or dad," says Dr. Acredolo. But most important, reading to a young baby ultimately helps her learn to talk. She begins to connect pictures with words. At 9 months, she'll be able to home in on your tone of voice, cadence, and the length of sentences. "Parents help a baby learn language by speaking to her often, with varied vocabulary and about topics she finds interesting," says Parents advisor Kathleen McCartney, PhD, professor of early-childhood development at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Make Reading Fun

• Go for the right touch (and taste!). Babies learn through their senses, so buy cardboard or cloth books that they can put in their mouth.



• Face it. Infants love looking at pictures of faces, especially those of other babies.



• Be silly. Is there a phone in the story? Say, "Ring, ring. Hello? I'm sorry Olivia can't take your call; she's in a meeting."



• Point out things in the real world. When you're taking a walk, talk about stuff you've read about in books. "See the doggie?" This will help her begin to associate the word "dog" with her picture book and the live creature in front of her.

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• Go to original Parents.com article.
  
• Read about how signing impacts early literacy.


• See video of a baby signing and "reading!"
  
• Visit BabySigns.com

Congratulations to our V.Smile Baby Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Carol at http://ceeceeblogger.blogspot.com/ who won our v.Smile Baby Giveaway contest.

Carol, please send your mailing address to me at lindae {at} babysigns {dot} com.

Thank you to all who participated. Watch this blog for more contest announcements.

-Linda Easton-Waller
Director of Marketing,
Baby Signs, Inc.

Get Ready for Cold and Flu Season: Part 2

Click here to see a video dictionary of health
and medical signs on the Baby Signs website.

How to Prepare Your Baby for Cold and Flu Season

As children go back to school, they become exposed to new viruses and bring them home to share with the family. If you have an infant in the house, there’s a good possibility that you’ll be caring for a sick baby at least once during the upcoming cold and flu season.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when a baby is sick. Your baby might have a low-grade fever, but when she can’t talk, there’s no way for her to tell if her throat hurts or her ears ache. With the H1N1 “swine flu” virus looming on the horizon, it’s especially important for parents to know that they CAN communicate with their baby when it comes to health issues.

We encourage you to start now to each these simple signs that will help your baby:

• tell you if he’s feeling (HOT, COLD, SICK)
• tell you where he’s feeling pain (HURT)
• know what to expect during a visit to the doctor (HELP, DOCTOR, MEDICINE)
• understand when pain will end when getting an immunization (ALL DONE)
• communicate about health-promoting activities (WASH)

Download your free Health Signs Poster!

Have you had experiences using these signs (or others) to talk with your baby about health issues?

Can earlier potty training help prevent child abuse?

The Problem
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “…more abuse occurs during toilet training than during any other developmental step.” (Source: Schmitt, B.D. Toilet Training your child: The basics. Contemporary Pediatrics. 2004; 21 (3): 120-122. As quoted in AAP Potty Training Guide http://www.aap.org/practicingsafety/module7.htm) (See also www.childdeathreview.org/reports/FL_2007CADRrpt.pdf)

Examples: Some recent cases reported in the Wichita Eagle (KS) - July 08, 2009

*Summer 2008: A little girl was severely beaten for soiling her diapers. She was then stuffed in a pillow case and trash bags and placed in the attic. A medical examiner said the girl was likely still alive and suffocated over the course of several hours.

*Summer 08: In Memphis, police say a 2-year-old girl was beaten to death by her father over a potty training issue.

* June 09: In Sacramento, Calif., a 27-year-old man was arraigned on murder charges for allegedly throwing his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son against a wall after the boy urinated in his diaper in the night.

*June 09: A husband and wife in Phoenix were accused of severely beating their 4-year-old daughter because she had not gone to the bathroom.

* And in Columbia, S.C., a father is in jail after being accused of kicking his 3-year-old daughter in the head and stomach, critically injuring her, over potty training issues.

WHY the problem?
These are examples of out-of-control parents who obviously lack the knowledge and skills to handle potty training. However, even the most educated and savvy parent will tell you than potty training is challenging.

The basic problem is that, all too often, parents assume that “waiting until a child is ready” means waiting until the child volunteers to learn to use the potty. Unfortunately, that seldom happens. The result is that too many parents keep waiting—as their child turns 2, 3, or even 4!

But at least children this old can talk and, therefore, tell you when they need to go. Isn’t that critical? The answer is no. According to child development expert, Dr. Linda Acredolo, “the age at which children become really verbal (around 24 months) is also likely to be when they also are beginning to strongly assert their independence. As a result, delaying potty training until they can talk all too often ends up involving a huge battle of wills.” Instead, parents who begin potty training before age 2 can tap into a period of development when toddlers are still relatively complaint and are naturally more inclined to imitate parents and siblings.

But if they can’t talk, how can they communicate their need to go? Here’s how.

Signs for Success
Babies love to use sign language to help them communicate before they can talk. By teaching babies the sign for “potty” (make fist with thumb between first two fingers, shake), they can easily communicate to their parents when they have to go. With the use of simple potty-time signs, babies can take advantage of the physical and emotional readiness that develops around their first birthday—and before their favorite word is “no.”.

Early potty training may not work for all children due to individual differences, health factors or developmental delays, but it will work for most – and it offers the promise of reducing parental frustration and protecting children from potential abuse.

Happy Signing!
--Linda

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

The Baby Signs Program and Autism: Exploring the Benefits

Hello!

I have a request. Over the years, Dr. Susan Goodwyn, co-founder with me of the Baby Signs Program, and I have received emails from Baby Signs Instructors, from parents, and even from our academic colleagues, all commenting on the potential benefits, not just of signing, but specifically of the Baby Signs Program, for autistic children and urging us to take a closer look. Given the severe problems so many autistic children have with verbal language, we believed they were right, but there always seemed to be other initiatives taking priority—until now. For some reason the frequency of such comments has increased recently, and one email in particular from a Baby Signs Instructor this week has caused us to really sit up and take notice. Here’s what she told us:

“I got a call from someone who teaches autistic children. She thanked me for teaching the Baby Signs® Program and shared that she uses signs with the older kids she works with and it really helps them. She went on to say that our teaching signs to parents of babies is a wonderful thing for autistic children because parents often do not get a diagnosis until they are older, so they are getting some intervention before they even know there is a problem. I have heard the same thing from other parents. A relative of my sister was told by her intervention team that having her baby in a preschool that used signs really helped him escape some of the detrimental affects of his autism. With 1 out of every 150 children being diagnosed with autism, it is more important than ever that we reach families and children early, and your program is doing this.”

What startled us into action was the insight that by teaching young babies to sign, we are providing parents of autistic children “…some intervention before they even know there is a problem.”

With this email as our inspiration, Susan and I have began to explore the research literature more closely. What we have already learned strengthens our hypothesis that our program, including our DVD-based potty training program, holds the promise of being especially beneficial to families with autistic children, both before and after they are diagnosed. What we are hoping now is that, by posting this message, we can reach individuals who might have relevant observations to share—both parents and professionals—about the impact of signing in general and/or of our program in particular on autistic children.

So, if you do have any insights to share, we’d really appreciate hearing from you!
• What have you observed?
• What has worked—and why?
• What hasn’t worked—and why?
• Would you be able to help us to conduct an informal study of the effectiveness of our program?

These children—and their parents—deserve any help we can provide. Feel free to comment here or contact me personally by email at dracredolo@babysigns.com.

Happy Signing!
Linda

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

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!

Contest! Win a V.Smile Baby™ Infant Development System from Baby Signs, Inc.

Win a V.Smile Baby™ Infant Development System for your baby!

V.Smile Baby provides fun and enriching ways for parents to interact and learn with their babies. Parents plug the console into the TV and insert their baby's favorite Smartridge™ (Learn & Discover Home Smartridge™ is included). Together, parent and baby play with the activity panel to interact with the delightful learning environments they see on the TV screen. With V.Smile Baby, you can share the joy and excitement of learning as you watch your baby grow.

V.Smile Baby Infant Development System teaches numbers, shapes, colors, animals and signs. Dr. Susan Goodwyn and Dr. Linda Acredolo, authors’ of Baby Signs: How To Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk, have helped VTech provide a great start for signing with your baby.


How to Enter

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Visit the online store at BabySigns.com.
Post on this blog to tell us which product you would love to have.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
For additional entries, post a blog entry when you:

• Follow/Subscribe to this blog


• Subscribe to BabySignsTV


• Follow us on Twitter


• Friend us on Facebook


• Blog about this contest (include link to your blog in your post)


• Tweet about this contest. You can tweet the following daily:
  Win a V.Smile Baby Infant Development System for your baby! Sponsored by Baby Signs, Inc. http://babysignsinc.blogspot.com
  

CONTEST RULES:
Due to shipping restrictions, this contest is only open to readers in the United States. Giveaway will end 8/31/2009 at 10:00 am PST. Winner will be chosen using http://www.random.org/. If winner does not respond within 5 business days, an alterate winner will be chosen. Please allow 10 business days for shipping. Baby Signs, Inc. reserves the right to revise the terms and conditions of this contest at any time.

Good luck to all entrants!

www.sweepsadvantage.com

www.contesthound.com

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

Using Baby Signs to fight a global pandemic? What do you think of this?

This BBC news report surprised us!

What you think about using baby sign language in the fight against swine flu?
We'd love to hear your opionions.

Linda Easton
Director of Marketing,
Baby Signs, Inc.

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