Learn the Sign for Eat

This past Friday, Baby Signs, Inc. sent out another free signing poster. This poster featured the sign for "eat". I am sure that this will be a popular poster for parents. Many parents start signing with their children because of frustration: their frustration and their child's frustration. Teaching babies the sign for "eat" along with "drink", "more" and "all done" can really help ease everyone's frustrations. To do the sign for "eat", put your fingers together (on your dominant hand) and tap your mouth with your fingertips. Use this link to download your free poster: https://www.babysigns.com/pdf/Eat_poster.pdf.

As a new instructor several years ago, I remember talking with a friend of mine, who said that he and his wife were teaching their baby to sign. I was happy to hear that until he said that they were only going to teach him the signs for eat, drink, more and all done. He said, "After all, what else does he need to say." I was quite flabbergasted by his statement. As a mom who signed with her own child, I would urge you not to stop at those four signs. It's amazing what your child can tell you if he or she has the tools to do so. Although it was terrific finding out what Emma wanted, it was more incredible finding out what she was observing, what she had learned and what she wanted to talk about, etc. Those moments with her are so precious to me. How else would I know that before the age of 2 that she knew almost all of the animals at the zoo? Or that she was scared of the elephants? Or that she loved watching orangutans? Or that she could hear an airplane flying over our house? Or that she wanted to talk about her Nemo calendar? Or that she needed help (used when the toy she knew made noise wasn't making noise)? There are so many priceless memories like those all made possible by signing.

So definitely, if you are starting to teach your baby to sign, start with the signs for "eat", "drink", "more" and "all done" - just don't stop there. There is so much more your baby wants to share with you.

Helpful Signs

Baby Signs, Inc. has been posting links to posters for parents, etc. to learn signs on a regular basis. Recently, it posted the sign for "sit down" (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs088/1100670752341/archive/1104277780516.html). It got me thinking about how I still use signs with my daughter even though she is almost 7 years old and really has no need to use signs for communicating. I find, however, that I have the need for signs to communicate with her. I really don't want to be the mom who is "fussing" at her child to do something, like sit down, be quiet, etc. With signs, I don't have to be.

When she was going to preschool, I would drop her off at the door, and the first thing she was supposed to do was to wash her hands. She would always look back at me, and I would do the sign for wash to remind her to wash her hands.

One day, we were at an event at the library, and she kept standing up when she wasn't supposed to. So I would do the sign for "sit down" and she would then sit down.

Last year, in Kindergarten, I was volunteering in her classroom, and she and a little boy were holding hands. As sweet as it was, I didn't want my daughter holding hands with a little boy so I signed the word, "stop" to her. The little boy didn't know what I meant, but my daughter did, and she dropped his hand pretty quickly.

This year, in first grade, she always seems to want to get up and hug me the whole time I am in there to volunteer in her class. I have to gently sign to her to "sit down" although I then go over to her for a hug.

Signing with my daughter as a baby/toddler was so helpful. She could communicate with us so much - all that she wanted, observed, felt, etc. However, even though she doesn't need signs to communicate with us, it's great to know that I can still use them to communicate with her. I love not being that "loud" mom.