Teach Your Baby to Sign: An Illustrated Guide to Simple Sign Language for Babies

by Monica Beyer

The ultimate guide to baby sign language, with color photos and 200 signs! You can hear—your baby can hear—so what's the deal? Every parent knows how frustrated—how enraged—babies become when they can't make themselves clear to their families. But now, before they can talk, they can tell you what they mean—with signs! Signing has taken the parenting world by storm. Why? Every parent is eager to give their baby the best possible upbringing, the least frustration, and the best head start for achieving in today's driven, competitive society. Research (funded by the National Institutes of Health) has found that signing babies: talk sooner and have larger vocabularies; have stronger parent/child bonds; have less frustration, crying and tantrums; show more interest in books; engage in more sophisticated play; and have higher IQ scores. Now, what parent doesn't want that? Baby signing has been featured on Dateline and Oprah . Teach Your Baby to Sign features photographs of babies signing, plus line illustrations of each sign. And it provides 200 useful signs—more than any other book—so parents can have a wide selection to choose from, along with stage-by-stage guidance so they'll know which signs to teach first and which to add as they and their baby become progressively more skilled and comfortable with signing.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Melissa Colby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple. Mostly signs. Not much to say.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly short read: majority of book is signs. The chapters are helpfully grouped into when you would need the signs (Eating, animals, people and places, etc.). Each section has tips specifically geared to those topics.

Book also has really helpful troubleshooting examples and solutions.

I read this book and Dr. Garcia's "Sign with your Baby" right after each other. I liked them both, but liked this one more if I had to pick just one.

[Tiffany Reddick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire has so far picked up the signs for 'more,' 'drink,' 'eat,' 'milk,' and 'all-done.' (26 Sept)

The book has pretty much all you would ask for: clear illustrations and descriptions of the signs, as well as pictures of cute kids practicing some of the many signs.

This book does lack one sign that would be useful--a sign for 'music.' Does anybody know what that sign would be?...For the time being, my daughter simply points to the radio.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very useful in the weeks of trying to expand on the signs beyond 'more' and 'food' There were several words I needed that were not in this book (which I then just looked up online) but it was handy to have a reference book by my chair.

[Ta Ta Ta Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent photos demonstrating the signs. I took copies to give to the grandparents. I would have liked more discussion about when to start signing to baby, and general instruction on introducing sign language to baby.

[Elvira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked a different organization with most useful signs first. I felt that I had to skip around to find the signs I wanted to learn. And I too agree, adult hands pictured would have been helpful.

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear pictures of children doing signs. Great tips on how to teach specific signs to babies and how to remember signs.

[Audra · Rating 3 out of 5]

If my baby actually signs back to me, I'll give it another star. She loves to look at the photographs.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the book useful. However, I would have appreciated pictures of adults signing. It's hard for me to follow the pictures of toddlers signing.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Sarah, the seed has been planted...

[Brooke]

Great visual guide to learning basic signs.

[Nicole]

So far, having a blast learning signs with my little man.