Do You Sign?

I've been wanting to teach my 8 month old baby sign language for a while now. I haven't really gotten a chance to really teach my boys, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to teach all of them so they can communicate with each other. I came across the latest Baby Einsteins's DVD My First Signs, and thought this would be an easy way to teach my daughter. The video goes over basic sign language common for very young children to use. My sons picked up the language pretty fast. They enjoyed signing and showing their baby sister what they've learned. I'm hoping she will begin to pick it up and use it as well. It's so important for her to learn to communicate her thoughts even when her oral language is still developing. Signing would actually fill in the gaps as she continues to develop her language. Could you imagine how easy it would be to know EXACTLY what your child wants simply by using our hands? It's amazing how fast babies, beginning at 6 months, can pick up sign language fairly quickly. As soon as my daughter picks up some of the signs, I will also use books to correspond the sign to the picture in the book. This is a great way to begin introducing vocabulary she will be using in her everyday language as well as read about in books. Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk, New Edition is a book I have been reading as well which gives more in depth information about the benefits of teaching sign language to your baby. It's an easy read, something to take along with you when your stuck in a waiting room!