The Demeter School

I have seen many parents, caregivers, and teachers who struggle with communicating with infants and toddlers. The babies cry, get easily frustrated, and guardians have a difficult time recognizing their needs.

One of the first “signs” a baby learns is to wave bye-bye. It is so simple, yet a profound way of exchanging communication. Babies and young toddlers who have yet to learn to speak can learn other “words” as easy as they learned to wave goodbye.

Baby Signs is a relatively knew idea to allow infants and toddlers to express their wants and needs. The children can learn signs such as “eat”, “apple”, and “bath”. Allowing your child to be verbal with their hands can create stronger bonds at early ages. The child will be less frustrated and more happy to express their feeling.

There are many books available and workshops in your area that will demonstrate the Baby Sign techniques. If the babies can learn the signs, you can too!

If you own a preschool or daycare (or work at one) this would be a great class for the company to take together. Then you can pass information onto parents in need!

And don’t worry, children who learn Baby Signs will still learn to communicate verbally. We don’t ever stop a baby from crawling before they walk, do we?

Filed under: General, Infant development on January 18th, 2007