As parents begin to introduce foods to their babies, many of them are giving signals to their baby without even realizing it.  Babies look at the human face for longer periods of time in comparison to other objects. The human face is the primary means for learning at this young age. When we sit down face to face to feed our babies we have extended eye contact and our hands are free from holding baby, so it is a common setting to begin signing with our babies.

Because eating is a novel experience or one that baby looks forward to, it may be an appropriate time to introduce some signs for foods.

Without even realizing it we tend to convey our own thoughts and feelings about the food we’re feeding our babies through facial expressions and other nonverbal cues. Just think about the face you make when something is bitter. How about when something is sweet? And something sour? Have you ever been witness to a baby tasting a lemon slice for the first time? That is something to see! Now, not every food we consume causes us to react with such distinct faces, but those extreme cases surely make an impression.

Have you ever seen the proverbial rubbing of the belly to indicate that something is yummy? Parents might even smack their lips to express food is tasty. I happen to love that the sign for YUMMY is the rubbing of the belly. This is one of those iconic signs, the sign makes sense in relation to the word.

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli is part of the Sign4Baby Signing Story Time series “All About Food” and I invite you to watch, laugh and giggle with your little one, all while learning a few new food signs!

What food does your child find especially YUMMY?

Just the other day I was in the kitchen and Owen, my 4 year old, wanted a snack. I make it a habit to always offer a fruit or vegetable first, so I grabbed the baby carrots from the fridge and asked “How many carrots do you want?” More often than not, Owen’s answer lately has been 4, because he is 4. This time, however, he asked for 8. I happened to grab 10 out of the bag; I figured I’d eat any he didn’t finish. When I put them in front of him, I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice some mathematical word problems. This is something my husband had introduced to my oldest when she was just 3 years old and she excels in math. Sometimes we forget to implement these same practices with a 2nd or 3rd child. But, it was just me and Owen in the kitchen with no older siblings to jump in with the answer and take away from his opportunity to figure it out.

“How many carrots do you have?” Owen counted them out carefully pointing at each carrot and smiled at me with his answer.

“How many carrots did you ask for?” I asked. He replied, “Eight.”

By now he had already begun eating his first carrot and I had grabbed one too. Then I asked if he knew how many extra I had given him. Looking at the baby carrots on the table and knowing one was in his belly and mine was just about gone, he began to count on his fingers and thumbs to figure this out. It was a fun observation to watch him find an alternate way to solve the problem all on his own. He eventually figured out that I had given him 2 extra. We played out a few other word problems using his carrots and sometimes he used the carrots as instruments to come up with the answer, and other times he used his fingers and thumbs to count out his answer. In either case I was witnessing how the tactile experience was what helped him conclude his answer.

Owen has always been fascinated with signing the numbers, at least 1 through 5. He learned in preschool the common way that kids learn to count to five, which contradicted the way I had shown him in ASL. At least the number THREE, so I’ll show you how to count to ten in sign, and share a great tip in this video.

Teachers agree that children who are encouraged to use their fingers to solve simple math problems have math concepts stick better. Part of that may be that it is visual, part of it may be that it is tactile. Either way, teachers now know that this is an effective tool for their students and not to discourage it. Children who sign are already accustomed to using their hands to convey ideas and concepts. So, could it be argued that signing with children makes them stronger in math? I believe so.

What ways do you incorporate math into your children’s activities?

Baby massage may seem superfluous or silly to some people, but it’s popularity is growing in the U.S. and it has actually been practiced for centuries in many cultures around the world. But, does it have any significant health benefits? You might be surprised at how much it does. In fact, touch plays a much more important role in human development than scientists first imagined.

Consider these facts:

• Skin is by far the largest of all of our sense organs.
• It develops early in utero – at less than 8 weeks, when the fetus is less than an inch long, the sense of touch is already highly developed – before there are eyes or ears.
• Between the pulsing of the amniotic fluid and the contracting and expansion of the walls of the womb, the uterine environment is a space of constant massage.
• When a baby is born, his vision is still fuzzy, but touch is a primary way he can interact with the world for the first few months.

Just from these basic biological facts, it becomes clearer that touch must be important for infant development. But, to what extent? Here’s a snapshot of the myriad medical benefits researchers have discovered over the years.

• In 1986. Dr. Tiffany Fieldand her colleagues gave preterm infants a 15-minute massage, three times per day, for ten days resulting in 21-47% greater weight gain than standard care alone. Those infants were also discharged six days earlier on average than control infants, saving approximately $10,000 in hospital costs per infant. Since then, they’ve also found:
  • Infants who experienced massage therapy cried less and had lower cortisol levels, suggesting lower stress.
  • Touch stimulation can positively affect physiological, behavioral, and social development among infants.
  • Young children with eczema who received daily massage from their parents saw symptoms decrease.

• Dr. Kathryn Barnard at the University of Washington found that infants who were held more showed superior cognitive development as long as eight years later.

• Research by Theodore Wacks, a psychologist at Purdue, showed that infants who experienced more skin-to-skin contact had an advantage in mental development in the first six months of life.

 
It turns out infant touch benefits pretty much all systems of the body – nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, endocrine – the impacts are profound.

And, the benefits aren’t just for babies. You can probably guess that parents sleep better when babies sleep better (which they do with infant touch). And, it reduces parental stress levels, too! Field found that mothers who do infant massage report lower levels of depression, they seem to be more sensitive to their baby’s cues and the babies are more responsive to the mother through the whole first three months.

Still question whether touch is as important as eating and sleeping? Consider one more landmark study.

In the 1960s, Dr. Harry Harlow separated infant monkeys from their mothers at six to twelve hours after birth and substituted “surrogate” mothers made either of heavy wire mesh or of wood covered with cloth. Both mothers were the same size, but the wire mother had no soft surfaces and was equipped with a bottle from which the baby could “nurse”while the other mother was cuddly, covered with foam rubber and soft terry cloth, but had no food. Despite the fact that only one surrogate mother could feed them, the infants still spent more time cuddling with the cloth mother. (They also found that the monkeys“raised” by wire mesh moms were very aggressive as adults.) These results led researchers to believe closeness and affection are as imperative to healthy development as food.

In today’s busy world, it’s all-too-common for parents to give a child a pacifier or put them in front of a video screen to keep them calm and quiet. But, those convenient moments of calm may be having subtle impacts on your child’s development. Take time to slow down. Take time to touch. Take time to cuddle. They aren’t babies for long and your investment of time and touch is a priceless investment in their health and well-being.

Before having kids I was an avid Super Nanny fan. Now that I have 3 children of my own, I find that what she may suggest to a family may not always work for everyone and I can hardly stand to take advice from someone who is not themselves a parent. To say the least, I don’t bother watching these days.

There is one tip though that seems to be weaved into every episode (or at least the ones I’ve caught). When talking to your child, get down at eye level with them. Eye contact is super important in delivering a message and seeing that it is received. Too often parents forget to do this and wonder why their child hasn’t done what was asked of them. I was also advised by a preschool teacher that a physical touch such as a hand on a shoulder, in addition to eye contact is important for boys. I’m not sure of the science behind it, but from my own experience in when I remember to use my “parenting tools” it is definitely effective. The trick really is practicing the technique often enough that it just becomes habit. We’re still working on it and my oldest is 6!

What is funny is my children even know that fostering eye contact is a great way to get their message delivered. There are times I’m busy typing away at the computer and my daughter, Amberly, is hungry for an after school snack. I’ll tell her to give me 5 minutes to wrap up and she’s often times come into the office to remind me that she’s hungry. She taps me on the shoulder, (the automatic response is to stop and look at the person) and then she signs EAT while reminding me that she is hungry. I suppose from signing with my kids and facilitating that eye contact while communicating a non verbal language, it taught them inherently to get eye contact to deliver important messages. It makes me really happy when I see this result instead of a tantrum about “Mom, you forgot you were going to get me a snack!” (which I won’t lie, has sometimes been the case).

Obviously, it is necessary to have eye contact to effectively introduce a sign to your child. Some situations that present themselves may make it difficult to retrieve you toddler’s attention. One such example is visiting a WATER FOUNTAIN. Most toddlers are in awe of water fountains and can’t take their eyes off it. Ideally you’d want to sign WATER FOUNTAIN before you get anywhere near it, before they are totally mesmerized by it. Having signed it a few times before going to visit a water fountain though can curiously prompt them to then look at you as you say it while standing at the water fountain and they then will look to you to check out the sign they recall you demonstrated just a few minutes before. I’ve used this technique several times and more often than not it has worked. I encourage you to make a trip to a nearby water fountain and practice this technique. Luckily, Amberly agreed to let me take this video of her demonstrating the sign. Check back and let me know how it went!

Do you sing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to your little one? Most of us do because we can easily remember those lullabies from our childhood quite easily.

Babies respond well to music and especially soft melodies like these because they are calming and the world around them can be a bit much to take in. Simply giving your child’s brain a new direction of focus can alleviate the stress a baby feels from their environment.

As parents we need all kinds of tools at our disposal to get through those rough patches of a baby’s crying fits. Singing can be one of the easiest tools to utilize, and for parents who have been SIGNING together with singing, they report a quicker response of calm in comforting their baby.

I first discovered this with my first baby, Amberly.  She was what is lovingly referred to as a high needs baby (as opposed to high maintenance baby) and she was also very alert, meaning she had a hard time tuning things out and would become over stimulated. By singing and signing to her I found I could focus her attention on one thing, the song. There is something about the tactile experience of the movement associated with the songs that probably made a deeper imprint in your brain.

As a new mom I didn’t know a lot of lullabies, but I knew the ABCs and Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just fine… so I sang and signed those… a lot! It seemed to make sense that since I was already signing with her to be able to communicate with Grandma (my mom is deaf) that I would use ASL rather than gestures.

There’s one reason I love a rainy day – the chance to sing and sign Itsy Bitsy Spider with the kids, both at home and in my classes! Enjoy this video demonstration – remember – few of us are born with star quality voices, but our kiddos enjoy it so sing and sign away!

We’ve had an unusually warm winter here in San Diego. In fact some days I’ve seen many Facebook posts bragging with photos of the temperature gauge in their car or an app from their smart phone… and lots of spontaneous beach days! Ah, the beach, a place full of adventure and endless sand for little ones. Many adults dread going to the beach because of the sand… but children can play in it for hours! Have you sat at a park and watched a baby who’s placed in the sandbox for the first time? Their curiosity of course leads them to put it straight in their mouth most of the time. And one handful is usually not enough! These moments are not only precious moments to sit and take in, but they offer as incredible learning opportunities for little ones. It seems that when a novel experience presents itself, a key (we’ll call it curiosity) unlocks the gateway to learning. Immediately their brain becomes thirsty for knowledge. These are the experiences I most loved in teaching my children a new sign. SAND is perhaps the epitome of this example.

I can distinctly remember the first time Kyle got to sit in the shade under a slide and enjoy the cool sand all around him. It dawned on me that I wasn’t sure of the sign for SAND and I turned to my husband thinking I’d lost one of these teachable moments. Instead he gave a quick response and said, “It probably looks something like how you sift sand through your hands.” Well, that was good enough for the moment to not be wasted and it looked vaguely familiar when he showed me his sign. I grew up in Minnesota, and although my mom is deaf, I just couldn’t picture the sign in my mind. I figured the least we could do is show Kyle the sign and if we needed to correct ourselves later, kids are quick studies and could easily adapt. Kyle was indeed curious about my going on and on about the sand and showing him the sign as well as playing with the sand through my fingers. He was not yet at the stage where he’s copy a sign after seeing it just one time, but I could see the wheels turning in his head.

While we have yet to make a winter’s run on the beach, we did recently go to Sea World where I took advantage of the bright scenery by their sand box to take a little video to teach you the sign for SAND. What other novel outdoor experience would unlock the gateway to learning a new sign for your baby?

The first time I heard the book read at a toddler story time, I fell in love with My Many Colored Days. The way the colors and animals give children a connection to the meaning of the feelings described on each of the pages is simple yet profound. It is seemingly written for that tender toddler age.

As a baby steps (no pun intended) into toddlerhood they have a full range of emotions to grapple with, partly in relation to their reach towards independence. Another part of that is the attempt at effective communication that is often times cute and often times frustrating. Consider for a moment a baby who has graduated the world of cruising and now toddles towards things they want. Sometimes those things are off limits as we protect our baby from danger. Yet, from their perspective, the other walking people seem to have full reign and few limits. A whole new world is open to them, yet invisible boundaries still limit them. On the flip side, exhilaration abounds at all the new achievements toddlers experience; in part due the novelty of being able to do something they once could not do. So often times the feelings are felt in a big way.

Just as babies are not born with all of their teeth and teething seems an unfair painful experience, toddlers must undergo a lot of trial and error as they progress in their verbal language journey. And so baby sign language has been a tool of choice for the modern day parent. I knew right away that I would utilize this lesser known book of Dr. Seuss’ in my Sign, Play & Learn classes as a tool to show parents how a book can connect the dots for complex ideas such as feelings.

Here I share with you a reading and signing of My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. Let me know which of the signs you plan to show your baby/toddler.

It is no secret that babies get a kick out of seeing animals and hearing the unique sounds they make. This is probably why there are so many children’s books that incorporate animals; babies and toddlers are engaged by them easily!  One of the classics is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.

In this video I’m capitalizing on the rhythm and cadence of this prose to introduce the signs for each animal and its color. This particular version of the book is great because as the story progresses to introduce the next animal, there is a peek-a-boo window that shows the next animal.

Babies and toddlers in the Signing Story Time program I have all over San Diego have been prompted to sign along, especially when we make the sound of the corresponding animal as a group. Being silly is a great way to get your child to imitate you, and that’s exactly what we want them to do when we are teaching them new signs.

Many of the parents in our classes have shared with me that they will read the book at home alongside this video as an additional way to practice their signs at home. Practicing your signing through reading books is a wonderful way to grow your child’s interest in books and it also enhances their language acquisition. Try it out with your little one and let me know if they enjoy it!

While my children are very little it seems they can be easily amazed by the same things again year after year as the fall season brings exciting adventures with it. A number of family fall activities have become traditions that once were novelties, and both bring about a sense of joy and connection. Those fuzzy warm feelings have provided the perfect setting for signing opportunities. One of our favorites has been taking the kids to Julian, CA to go apple picking.

I remember quite clearly the first time we took my daughter who had just turned 2 years old and son who was just about 6 months old to go apple picking. Walking down rows of trees that bore a fruit she was quite familiar with was all a novelty to her. First she was pointing out the apples on the ground, and then I lifted her up to a branch with an apple ripe for the picking. She reached right out for it and harvested her very first apple. At that age they still put things in their mouth without much warning, especially if that item is food. We broke the rules and let her eat the apple right then and there; luckily this orchard is certified organic. At this age she was saying apple with great ease, but I wanted to see if she remembered the sign for APPLE, which she did! After apple picking we went to the Apple Days Festival where kids could dance, ride a tractor, bounce in a jumpy house and feast on apple treats. We next ventured into town to grab a slice of warm apple pie! One of the best parts about this playgroup excursion was watching them all experience a bench swing and tossing leaves up in the air over and over again. Two more great signing opportunities: SWING and LEAVES. Mom’s Pies Etc had given our family the perfect way to end the apple picking day. This past weekend the boys had their very first experience of picking apples at the very same orchard. It will certainly be an activity we look forward to again for years to come.

We’d missed the apple season a couple of years in a row, having 3 kids and planning an hour long drive up a windy highway can be fairly daunting. Leading up to this recent visit, my daughter retold parts of the story that I’ve just shared with you here. She literally had just turned two when we had been the last time, and now at six years old she could remember. I credit this to teaching her sign language. Memories are formed when children have language to articulate and store those memories. Sign language probably more so because it is then a visual imprint on the mind of their experience.

Does your family have a favorite fall activity? Have you created a signing opportunity out of seasonal activities or family traditions? Share them by leaving a comment below.

Babies generally begin pointing around 6 to 9 months of age, coincidentally the time they are ready to begin the adventure of eating solids. In fact the act of pointing is one of the indicators to look for in determining if your baby is truly ready for solids. Pointing is one of baby’s first forms of communicating. In the beginning it is adorable and parents as well as caregivers ask questions to find out what baby is pointing at to find out their interests. Sometimes baby will also point at things they want. Why pointing isn’t always effective is because of the long arduous process of trying to find out each and every time what it is they want. When they’re pointing it is generally something they can’t get their hands on immediately and they need help to obtain it. Parents get up and go over to the general vicinity of where baby is pointing and begin picking up objects, “is this what you want?” item after item being picked up and put down with your baby growing frustrated in not being understood.

Often pointing and the excitement around pointing diminish after a couple short months because of its inconsistent results and ineffectiveness. Yet, it is clear that babies have the desire to “point out” things they are interested in, just for the pure joy of communicating, not so much because they want the item. This is when I encourage parents to take advantage of pointing for the beauty of baby sign language, the act of just bonding with their child where there is not a need to be met, but rather your child steering two way conversations.

Birds and airplanes are two great examples of having this ripe opportunity available. It is something that has caught your child’s attention, which they merely want to talk about. More often than not this situation arises when you are enjoying time outside, where you have the time and tendency to connect. It is clear the child doesn’t want the bird or airplane, but rather enjoys the interesting sound it makes or the fact that it is in the sky, where not everything else can go…. Amazing that those babies are in fact making these distinctions this young!

Take advantage of this time and talk about the “birds” or “airplanes” flying high above, how interesting the sound is that they make, or their color, or how many there are…. Each situation is unique and provides various possibilities. The key point (no pun intended) is to have a dialogue with your baby, letting them know you take interest in their observation of the world around them. The tip I specifically share in the Sign, Play & Learn classes is this “Every time your baby points, take it to mean – I want to know what that’s called” and provide not just the name of the item, but also the sign. Babies want to be heard and valued, when we provide them the tool for being better understood with signs that associated with their “interests” instead of focusing so much on the common signs of “eat”, “more”, “all done” and “please”, a child will not only respond more readily, and by that I mean learn and demonstrate the sign, but they will feel good about being understood, well responded to and loved!