American Sign Language employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body.
I was flipping through the channels one day when my daughter was 7 months old and came across a show called "Signing Time." My daughter and I watched it and the signs I learned that day I worked with her the entire day, over and over.
I did this continuously and by 13 months she showed me she could sign. Her first sign was "all done!"
Now of course in the beginning I was getting discouraged because she would not mimic me or anything. But that day she first signed was great, and very much unexpected. I felt a sense of relief, like yes, she was paying attention.
Anyways her signing definitely reduced her tantrums.
Do you know why babies cry and throw tantrums?
This is due to lack of knowing how to communicate and get their point across.
If your baby could say "mom, may I have milk please," there would be no need to sit and cry and scream until you figured out your baby wanted milk. Right?!
Now she is 11 years old still watching Rachel, and she still loves it. She still watches the SigningTime dvd's every day as part of quality time with her younger siblings. Plus kids are full of energy why not teach them a hands on second language that will keep them moving.
Below is a video of my daughter before she could speak well, at about 21 months old signing.
Enjoy!
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