Early Potty Training Positively Impacts Environment

Looking for ways to help the environment?
Consider potty training before your baby is two.

Think it's not possible? Consider this:
Before disposable diapers were invented 95% of all children in the U.S. were fully potty trained by 18 months.

Think it's hard? Consider this:
Children are naturally more cooperative before the age of 2. They like to imitate parents and siblings. And they haven't yet discovered the word "no."
Here are some videos that will help you learn more:

National Geo: Impact of Diapers of Environment

Introduction to the Baby Signs Potty Training Program

The Baby Signs Potty Training Program on THE DOCTORS

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Real Life
Comments on Facebook this week from moms who are potty training before 2:

"My 12 month old just signed potty for the first time today while watching the Potty Train dvd. He actually asks for the dvd by bringing me his whistle and then dances and watches intently for the entire thing. Thanks for the encouraging tools!"

"My 10 month old just signed potty while watching her dvd too! And she really loves the whistle. She gets to play with the whistle when she goes potty. She thinks it's really funny so it's a good positive reinforcement for going potty!"

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Earth Day Coupon
One Day Only!

Save $10 on the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit
Coupon Code: 10bucks
Offer Good on Thursday, April 22

Coupon for retail orders only. Offer not valid for Instructor wholesale orders. No cash value.

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Does your baby fear the flush?
This book helps.

It's Potty Time (For Boys) It's Potty Time (For Girls)

Toilet training is a important step in a child's development; however, young children can sometimes be frightened by the sight and sound of a flushing toilet. Now you can read It's Potty Time (For Boys) and It's Potty Time (For Girls) with your child and help prevent or eliminate those fears. As you read the book together, invite your child to push the button on the book to hear the sound of a flushing toilet and giggling children. Use the chart on the last page of the book to acknowledge and reward your child's potty-time success!

Baby Signs Weekend WOW: Free Shipping

Find the perfect gift for the new mom in your life!

DEAL
Get free shipping on orders placed this weekend at www.babysigns.com.
See below for restrictions.

CODE
babysigns416
Click here for coupon code instructions

EXPIRATION
This offer is good for this weekend only!

Start: Friday, April 16 noon
End: Sunday, April 18 midnight

RECOMMENDED ITEMS

Baby Signs Complete Starter Kit

Baby Signs Potty Training Kit

Complete DVD Set with FREE Plush Tote

Buy 1 Get 1 Free DVD Fun Pack Offer

Restrictions: Offer applies to retail orders for the continental U.S. only. Allow 2 weeks for shipping. Does not apply to wholesale and international orders or to orders from Alaska and Hawaii.

BABY SIGNS Sign of the Week Video: SHOES

Happy Spring! The sun is out and the trees are blossoming, so it's a perfect time for a walk. As you get ready to go outside, use this natural opportunity to teach your baby the American Sign Language sign for "Shoes!"

Watch previous Sign of the Week videos

Request a sign

Dr. Linda Acredolo is quoted extensively in an article in the April issue of American Baby!

Read the article about how babies 0-18 months express happiness.

(Click image to enlarge.)

Baby Signs "Sign of the Week" BUNNY - with free poster

Happy Spring! The sign of the week is "BUNNY." You will see a demonstration of the American Sign Language sign and of the baby-friendly sign. Choose the sign that works best for you and your baby.



Watch previous Sign of the Week videos
Request a sign


APRIL SAVINGS Buy 1,Get 1 Free!
Buy the My Bedtime Signs DVD Fun Pack and get the My Getting Dressed Signs DVD Fun Pack - absolutely FREE!No promo code needed. Offer expires 5/1/10
Buy Now!

Animal Signs Printable Poster Pack
Printable Poster Pack with 12 animal signs: Dog, Cat, Bird, Fish, Duck, Frog, Horse, Cow, Bug, Turtle, Butterfly, and Bunny. Get a PDF document to print your own 8.5 x 11-inch posters for your baby's room. Just $6.99.
Buy Now!


Download this free sample poster here.

Baby Signs Sign of the Week: Bubbles

It's National Bubble Week! The sign of the week is "Bubbles" (of course).




Watch previous Sign of the Week videos

Purchase Bath Time Signs DVD Fun Pack (use promo code "baby10" to save 10% through 3/31)

Request a sign

Sign language beneficial for babies in low-income families, study finds

Dear Readers,

Below you will find a recent article from the UK which highlights the advantages that signing has for infants from low-income families. It's exciting to see that others are coming to recognize the benefits to the parent-infant relationship and early language development that we've been touting for so long. My only reservation concerns the suggestion that such results are restricted to low-income children. As those of you familiar with the Baby Signs Program know, our foundational research funded by the US federal government (NIH) revealed significant positive effects of signing on language development among middle- and upper-income children. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nonverbal Behavior ( 2000) is available in full on our website, www.babysigns.com.

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

Sign language beneficial for babies in low-income families, study finds

Reprinted from Children & Young People Now (UK)

By Ross Watson 15 March 2010

Sign language used by mothers in low-income families can have a profound effect on babies' development, according to research conducted by the University of Hertfordshire.

The research, partly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, will be discussed at an ESRC-organised event on Thursday called Communicating with Your Baby.

Based on a two-year study of 25 mothers and their babies, the findings suggest sign language has a significant impact on babies experiencing language delay, which the researchers claim is most likely to occur in low-income households.

The research showed that signing is likely to have very little impact on the language skills of most babies. But it suggested that sign-language classes in children's centres could have wider societal benefits for babies from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"In families where the language environment is known to be less than optimal, gesture is identified to have the potential to effectively promote better mother-infant interaction," said the report. "The appeal of the sessions is likely to attract attendance at Sure Start centres, therefore these sessions provide community practitioners with access to parents at risk and enable other services to be opened up to them.

"Through early intervention, gesture has the potential to reduce the disadvantage that children face from impoverished language abilities, and ultimately bring about lasting benefits."

Baby Signs "Sign of the Week" Video - and FREE Poster

In celebration of Dr. Suess' birthday, March is National Reading Month. Research conducted by Baby Signs Founders Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn show that babies who sign develop an early love of books and reading. Why? Because signing helps babies become active participants in reading instead of just passive listeners.



Watch this video with your baby and learn the American Sign Language sign for "Book!"

Download this free Baby Signs poster

Watch previous Sign of the Week videos
Request a sign

Baby Signs Sign of the Week: MORE

The ASL sign for MORE is a Baby Signs favorite because babies can use it in so many different ways. They can use it to ask for more milk, more bubbles, or to ask to stay in the tub a little longer. One mother recently told us that her son used the more sign to ask for more time with his daddy!

Help your baby learn this sign with these Baby Signs resources:

• My Mealtime Signs DVD 14.99
• Baby Signs Starter Kit 39.95
  

Baby Minds Video Tip: Create a Crawling Challenge For Your Baby!

Watch this video by child development expert Dr. Linda Acredolo (co-author of Baby Signs, Baby Minds and Baby Hearts) and learn how you can build challenging crawling landscapes to help build your baby's mind as well as his muscles!



Purchase Baby Minds: Brain Building Games Your Baby Will Love

New Printable Signing Posters from Baby Signs!

Due to the popularity of the posters we've been sharing through this blog, we've created the first Baby Signs Printable Poster Pack. This PDF pack features winter signs and is just $6.99.

Purchase here.

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Sign of the Week from Baby Signs: HAT

Watch this video with your baby and learn the ASL sign for HAT.

Teach this sign to your baby with these Baby Signs products:

• Printable Poster Pack: Winter Signs $6.99
• Baby Signs Favorites Board Book $8.99
• My Getting Dressed DVD $14.99
• Circle Time Signing Books Set 1 $15.99
• Concept Flash Cards Set 1 $15.99
• My Getting Dressed DVD Fun Pack $19.99

Baby Sign Language in the News!

Infant Sign Language May Help Kids Communicate Sooner

(Springfield, MO) -- Most parents remember their child's first words. Baby normally first says "mamma or dadda" before his or her first birthday. But a new trend in childcare is helping kids learn to communicate months earlier. Several daycare centers around the Ozarks are teaching infants sign language. The theory is that helping kids learn how to communicate sooner will make them happier and help them learn more quickly.
Winifred Pyle is 15 months old, but when she was seven months she started talking with her hands. "I think it really helped her be less frustrated in general, so she's not crying all the time," said her mother Krista Pyle. Missouri State University's Child Development Center is one of several childcare centers around the Ozarks that teaches babies sign language.

Teacher Amanda Lee said she's seen first hand how signing can help kids absorb more knowledge at a younger age. "The more pathways you create to that information the better they'll be able to learn in the future," said Lee. Infants start learning sign language as early as six weeks old, and one of the first signs they learn, is milk. Lee says parents do sometimes have concerns that teaching their children to sign might make them delay speech.

But so far Lee said she hasn't seen any evidence of that. And neither has Winifred's mom. "She's also verbalizing a lot. She's realizing she can't sign for everything," said Pyle.Lee said children usually start visibly comprehending sign language around six months, and can communicate back about a month later. "If you can make their first communication with your child be seven or eight months instead of twelve months that's four extra months you're already able to meet your child's needs," said Lee.

So from diapers to books, Winifred and her mom are able to have a conversation without saying a word. "As long as I can understand her and she can understand me, I feel like that is crucial," said Pyle.

OzarksFirst.com

Baby Signs Sign of the Week Poster: SNOW!

Of all the posters I've created at Baby Signs, this is my favorite. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy signing,

Linda Easton
Baby Signs, Inc.

Sign of the Week from Baby Signs: SNOW!

Watch this video with your baby and learn the ASL sign for SNOW!

Learn more with the Baby Signs Video Dictionary DVD for just $4.95 shipping and handling.

Infants are SO smart! See this video tip and you'll be amazed.

If you have an infant, you'll want to see this video! Dr. Linda Acredolo will show you a simple activity with a baby mobile will show you how smart infants are and how fast they learn.

Subscribe to these video tips.

Baby Signs Sign of the Week: BATH

Watch this video with your baby and learn the ASL sign for BATH.




Download your free bath sign poster

















Help your baby learn this sign with the My Bath Time Signs DVD Fun Pack. Save $5 on this fun pack with promo code: 5dollars

Thank you Amber from Building Blocks Preschool for requesting this sign!
Request a sign

Baby Signs Video Tip: Learn 3 signs to help your baby tell you what's wrong when he's feeling sick

Watch this video from Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, authors of Baby Signs and learn 3 simple ASL signs (hot, cold and hurt) that will let your baby tell you what's wrong when she's hurt or feeling sick.

Download this free Baby Signs poster with the signs for hot, cold and hurt - plus 6 more!

Sign of the Week: Mommy

The votes are in and the Baby Signs Sign of the Week is "MOMMY." It won the most requests this week. (Are you surprised?) Watch this video with your baby and learn the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for MOMMY.

Watch this video

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Help your baby learn this sign

The Baby Signs Favorites board book features the sign for Mommy as well as the signs for Daddy, Love, Ball, Baby, Hat, Phone, Hot, Flower and Outside. The beautiful photographs and the point-and-sign review page at the end will help your baby learn signs and develop a strong love of books and reading.

Click here to purchase this book.

Got a video camera? Use it to help boost your baby's memory skills!

Baby Minds Tip:
Boost your baby's memory skills - with your video camera
Watch this short video to learn how you can turn your video camera into a wonderful teaching tool for your baby. Child development expert Dr. Acredolo lets you in on this simple, but powerful, tip for building your baby's capacity for memory, a foundational skill for learning.

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Nurturing your child's Development
In this new online video series, Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn, child development experts and best-selling parenting authors provide you with useful tips, tools and insights about the three major aspects of development: language, cognitive and social-emotional development.

Subscribe to these video tips here.

Baby Signs "Sign of the Week" Video: EAT

This year, Baby Signs will be posting "Sign of the Week" videos to help you learn some fun signs to teach your baby. This week's video features the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for EAT.



If you would like these videos delivered by email, you can subscribe here.
If you would like to suggest a sign for this video series, email lindae@babysigns.com.

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These Baby Signs resources will help you teach your baby the sign for EAT:

My Mealtime Signs Video

It's Time to Eat! Board Book

Baby Signs Circle Time Books Set 1

Baby Signs Flash Cards Set 1