Hi, I am trying to find out if anyone would be interested in baby signing classes in the Sheffield area? It is a method of communication for babies before they start to speak, and is a way of interpreting what your child is trying to say without the pressure of speaking. It also encourages speaking with the signing.
Any takers?

Cheers, Yaz

that's not the same as makaton is it?

I remember seeing something about this a while ago on telly. Looked quite good and a frien dof mine managed to get some of it to work with her little boy despite not having much guidance.

If I had a baby I would be interested but my youngest is 2.

Moon Maiden

Whats wrong with the communication methods which we have used since the year dot. Forgive me for sounding cynical but this sounds just like a good way for somebody to make money.

I twould have been interesting to see if the signing my friend managed to teach her baby had heightened any intellectual part of him.
Unfortunately - in my honest opinion - certain aspects of her lifestyle and mother technique leave something to be desired and would probably have destroyed any other work.

Moon

Originally posted by Mo
Whats wrong with the communication methods which we have used since the year dot. Forgive me for sounding cynical but this sounds just like a good way for somebody to make money.
If we would have thought that since year dot, we never would have adapted cave man 'Ug's into 'Hello Darling Fancy drink before we go bopping in the disco'?

It's all about improving the way things are done and moving forward as a species. This includes the way we communicate!

Originally posted by DaBouncer
If we would have thought that since year dot, we never would have adapted cave man 'Ug's into 'Hello Darling Fancy drink before we go bopping in the disco'?

It's all about improving the way things are done and moving forward as a species. This includes the way we communicate!

Babies manage quite nicely thank you very much in communicating with adults. I can assure you that when you have children you are well aware when they are unhappy, uncomfortable, hungry, in pain etc.

The most productive thing you can do for any child to aid its development is to use our method of communication ie talk to him/her all of the time. None of this choo choo rubbish either.

I was impressed by the way the royal family bring their babies up, it was a programme on tv. and our Queen was talking to her grandchildren in an adult way.

That is the best way, instead of baby talk we should talk to them more sensible and they will understand quicker and be more mature.

Having said that, I have been guilty of talking to my children babyish when they were tiny, but they have grown up to be normal adults, so what does it matter?

Originally posted by Mo
Babies manage quite nicely thank you very much in communicating with adults. I can assure you that when you have children you are well aware when they are unhappy, uncomfortable, hungry, in pain etc.

The most productive thing you can do for any child to aid its development is to use our method of communication ie talk to him/her all of the time. None of this choo choo rubbish either.
So you think that as long as it works for you then we don't need to improve the way things are done and seek out new and IMPROVED ways of doing things!
You may rely on a sixth sense type to know when your baby wants feeding, changing or is happy, but others (such as those willing to open their minds in aid of improvement) want to be able to communicate directly with their babies. Thus taking away the need for a guessing and actually knowing!

I'm a big fan of sign language and different methods of communicating so I think this is a good idea!! Some of you are saying you should just stick with the communication used from year dot but what if your child can't communicate through speaking later in life or at all!? It's a good idea and I did it when I was younger and it's done a lot for me and my chose professoin.
Chloé

I am pleased to have sparked some interest, good and bad in the subject of baby signing. The reason I am thinking of doing the classes is mainly to gather mothers in my area together each week with their babies and socialise. I have just moved up from London to Sheffield and don't know anyone here, so it will be perfect for meeting other mums and friends for my baby too.

As for making money, I assure you there isn't a whole lot to be made out of it really...it has to be affordable enough for people to come to the classes in the first place. I don't think that any harm can come from tryig to connect with your child before they can speak, much less harm than ignoring our children!

If I can understand WHY my baby is upset or happy or confused, it can only help to nourish our relationship and add to my skills as a mother.
I believe it shouldn't be taken that seriously anyway..it does't come anywhere near hothousing...its fun to learn together with your child!

There appear to be two schools of thought when it comes to baby development. Those who say a baby born into this world knows nothing, and others who say a baby is born with a high level of intelligence, which must be 'unlocked'.

I'd go along with the second theory. Why? Because when my first born son had his baby jabs at the surgery at two, three and four months old he recognised the smell / sight of the room and the association of pain. (For those who don't know, babies have various jabs at 2,3 and 4 months to innoculate against various diseases).

On his second visit at 3 months, he started crying as soon as his clothes were removed prior to the jab.

On the third visit at 4 months, he started crying as soon as we entered the room!

So there we have an example of a newborn child able to associate the memory of a particular room / smell with pain, and I don't believe it was just a coincidence.


My mother told me another story about baby development, which I can post here if anyone would like. When I told her the 'old wives tale' she said was technically impossible, she replied saying that 'Yes, but babies are cleverer than you think...' :? :wow: :!:

the nursery my boy attends uses makaton signing. Kids who can't quite form words yet use a simple sign to indicate 'please' etc. This helps the staff understand them whilst they are perfecting their word sounds, which leads to fewer frustrated kids. A lot of tantrums around age 2 are a result of an inability to communicate and makaton is a really useful way of trying to cut down on that frustration.

We have a son with Down Syndrome, and our local support group set up sign language course at the hospital speech therapy unit. It was standard sign language, not Makaton, and they reckon kids with learning or speech difficulties can communicate with signs when speech isn`t possible, or hasn`t developed yet. This has to be a good thing for Down`s kids, and why shouldn`t normal babies be allowed to "speak" to their parents before speech has developed?

I would be interested in baby signing classes as would one or two of my colleagues. Please keep me posted

I'd suggest you contact the RNID and local deaf schools, they'll know where these classes are. :)

I don't believ eit is that sort of signing Classic!!!

Moon

I know, but I think it may be connected somehow....they may have come across this sort of thing before, with it being a form of communication. Only guessing....:blush:

I will be running Babysigning classes from January!!

It is very interesting reading the diverse comments about the usefulness of such a system. It is an area widely researched & the benefits such as decreased frustration, increased communication, and enriched parent-infant bonding as well as Signing babies displaying an increased interest in books cannot be denied.

Above all else it is FUN!! It is aimed at babies from 0-2 of any ability (particularly useful to those experiencing communication problems).

I would love to have Mo come to a class!!!

I have a four year old who has a communication problems. Saying that I have a 12 and 15 year old who have severe communication problems :lol:

Actually we have had my 4 year old reffered to a speech therapist four times now and they say there are no problems. No he ain't a stupid kid just cannot seem to communicate with us. He gets all his words mixed up and gives up and talks about beyblades instead!!
Which is really frustrating for everyone!

Moon

Originally posted by Abby
My mother told me another story about baby development, which I can post here if anyone would like. When I told her the 'old wives tale' she said was technically impossible, she replied saying that 'Yes, but babies are cleverer than you think...' :? :wow: :!:
I'd like Abby! Come on mate lets hear it!

hi,
i work in a nursery and i would be interested in learning more about this as it would benifit my course!
keep me posted if ya will!

love
sammie
xx

I am amazed at the amount of material out there. Just typing in 'baby signing' into Yahoo brought up dozens of sites with hundreds of testimonials.

My only concern is the long-term effects. Will this hinder the natural development of a baby's speech?

For alchresearcher & other interested parties,

Baby signing has been proven to enhance a child's development - babies who use symbolic gestures tend to have larger vocabularies, understand more words & show an increased interest in books when compared to non-signing babies they also tend to speak at an earlier age. One particular study revisited children several years later & found their IQ's were higher than the non-signing control group. An important benefit is the ability to express their needs before they can verbalise them.

The neural pathways responsible for language rest upon the same pathways for motor co-ordination - this is why motor therapies help with language development of children with special needs.

I really could go on all day extoling the virtues of this system. In the very near future all new parents will be encouraged to use baby signing as a pre-lingual for of communication.

I look forward to the day when we look back and think that it was strange how we didn't use signing! It benefits everyone, including the way that the majority of us do not interact with the deaf.