I’m excited for you to read this guest post from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship. I never used sign language with my babies. (Why? I don’t know!)  Two of my sisters-in-law use it with their babies and it’s AMAZING to watch those smart babies communicating!

Now even though you can’t see me…I am doing sign language to tell you to read and learn more with Katie. You never knew I could blog in sign language did you?

Here’s Katie…
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Laura does such a good job with homeschooling tips for school-aged kiddos, and the Preschool eBook will be an amazing resource for that age group. Now for the littlest among us: if you have an infant or young toddler, I’m here to take away the apprehension many people seem to have about baby signs and share our family’s joy in using them. By the time you get to the trick at the end, you’ll be inspired to begin using baby signs today with your child.

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and write about it on my blog, so I’m happy to come out of there for a spell and share about something non-food but close to my heart here at Heavenly Homemakers. Of course, I’m going to start by talking about food. Life is like that sometimes.

If you’ve ever parented a child through the high chair phase, you’ll recognize this scene (even if I don’t know how to spell it):

The child points to something on the table and says – here it comes – “Unh!” (Maybe it’s “Uhhhhn!” or “Uohhhh?”)

Thus begins the “What do you want?” game:

You say, “This?”
-”Uhn.”

“This?”
-”Uhn!”

“This?”
-”UHN!”

Often you figure it out eventually, but some situations melt into tantrums because the child can’t communicate. They know so clearly what they want, but just can’t say it yet.

Now imagine this scene:

You’re having a family dinner with your 11-month-old in the high chair. The child tells you she wants more banana. Later that same meal she asks politely for, “Cheese, please.” And when you realize you’ve forgotten a drink for the little one, it’s because she asked for water, not because she threw a fit and you fumbled around to figure out why she might be upset.

OK, that’s a bit of an ideal situation that doesn’t quite happen at my house with our ultra-stubborn one-year-old. But even though her words are very few at 15 months, she knows at least 60 baby signs and can often tell us what she wants (when she lets go of her stubbornness enough to actually use them!). She’ll tell us she wants a big slice of watermelon instead of cut-up pieces, a carrot from the table or nursing from Mom instead of dinner.

The Joys of Baby Signs in Our Family

I’m a huge believer in baby signs. They make our house a happier place to be.

I can’t describe to you how my heart fills with joy when I can “read” a book with my just-one-year-old, and she tells me what’s on the page. We love to read simple picture books with vivid animal photos, and she tells me when she sees a horse, a gorilla, a dog (her favorite) and when she’s scared of the picture of the bee. She can tell me when she wants to ride the horse downstairs or go outside to swing. She can point out squirrels running up a tree and convince me to get her peas out of the freezer.

Some of these “conversations” just wouldn’t be possible with pointing and grunting, and it might result in crying and frustration (for both of us). Other times it’s just an added delight to be able to converse with my baby and understand what she enjoys and to what her attention is drawn.

My favorite signing story comes from my son, who knew over 100 baby signs before he transitioned to words at about 16 months and we stopped learning new signs. He was around 14 or 15 months old, and he was eating a piece of frozen melon in the high chair. He often enjoyed having the whole piece of fruit when possible, so I served it to him without cutting it up. He tried to eat it, but quickly used a sign to tell me that it was “cold”. He then proceeded to point across the room and make a motion with his index finger.

“Banana?” I asked. No. “Bread?” No again. He added the sound “nigh” along with the finger motion. I couldn’t think what he possibly wanted that started with N! I finally went to where he was pointing and pulled out the drawer. He got very excited. It was then that I realized he had been pointing to the drawer where we keep the sharp knives, asking me with a slashing motion in the air to “cut” up his melon with a “knife” because it was “too cold” to pick up! Impressive.

What About You? Do You Use Baby Signs?

I often ask new moms if they’re using baby signs, and so many say something like this:  “I just don’t know how to start, so…”

If that sounds like your well-intentioned excuse, I’m here to tell you the 10 easy steps to get started with baby signs:

1. Learn a sign.
2. Do it in front of your baby while you’re talking.
3. Um. Oops. I guess there are only 2 steps.

Seriously, you don’t need to read a book, understand why baby signs are so good for your baby, or have a huge cache of signs in your repertoire in order to begin. If you have ever talked to your baby, you can do baby signs. The basic concept is the same.

We talk to our babies from birth even though we know they can’t talk back. This teaches them about how words sound, what they mean, and how conversation works. While you’re talking, just do some hand motions at the same time, and you’re teaching your little one an alternative way to communicate with you, one that they are developmentally and physically able to do before they’re ready to speak.

The trick? Just do it.

The next installment of “The Joys of Baby Signs” will further convince you that you can do this in your household, teach 10 basic signs that you can use TODAY, and share more resources for learning new signs.