Signs of a Happy Baby: The Baby Sign Language Book

by William Paul White, Kathleen Ann Harper

What does your baby want to say? You can find out–even before your baby can verbally speak–by using baby sign language. Signs of a Happy Baby gives parents everything they need to start signing with their baby, including a comprehensive dictionary with easy-to-follow photos of fun and practical American Sign Language (ASL) signs, and tips for integrating sign language into their everyday activities. Start signing with your baby now. What your baby has to say will blow you away!

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

182 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2017

About the author

William Paul White never planned on becoming a baby sign language instructor, but when he realized the impact that signing with his own children had on their communication skills and cognitive development, he was inspired to create his own baby sign language curriculum. William has since brought baby sign language classes to more than 13,000 families, helping parents and caregivers communicate with their children long before their babies are able to speak verbally.

Signs of a Happy Baby consolidates his teaching into a comprehensive resource for families, including a photo dictionary with easy-to-follow photos of fun and practical American Sign Language (ASL) signs, and tips for integrating sign language into everyday activities.

As a dancer, William appreciates how physically expressive sign language is. And, with his degree in psychobiology (the study of behavior from a biological approach), sign language appeals to his love of how the brain processes and learns language.

William is passionate about the importance of early communication with children.

“As you grow your signing vocabulary and teach signing to your child, you’ll build a window into your child’s world,” says William. “You’ll discover a special place, filled with what delights, intrigues, and fascinates your baby. Your life will never be the same.”

William and his co-author/wife, Kathleen Ann Harper, are parents to two sons who still sign. They live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are trying to persuade someone that using sign language with a hearing baby is useful, this is your book. It's persuasive and inspiring - especially for soon-to-be parents who already understand that it can be frustrating to get through the first 2-3 years before a hearing-speaking child can express themselves.

However, even though it's relatively short for a nonfiction book, it would probably be faster to take an introductory course with the author, and then teach yourself the first 100 words a baby would need to know. (That list is not included, but can be found online in various places.)

The publication date of 2017 means that new research is not included, but the endnotes (pages 79-90) include full references to research and other persuasive articles.

Pages 94-147 are photos of vocabulary words in alphabetical order, and the suggestion to go to the author's website, which has links to classes, video series, and books. However, for most hearing adults caring for hearing children, it makes sense to use online dictionaries, which have 3- to 10-second video clips so you can see a real person signing in ASL.

Each chapter also includes a quote from a parent/caregiver of a hearing child using sign language, and an assortment of parenting tips that are only tangentially related to the main theme of the book, which is clear:

Human beings develop receptive language skills (understanding) before they develop the capacity for expressive language. For most children, expressing themselves using hand signs, facial expressions, and body language will come long before speech. With just a little extra effort, a parent/caregiver can notice those expressions and enhance them with sign language to facilitate the early development of communication.

This is not an instruction book - but it's very persuasive and inspiring!

[Jennifer Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chock full of anecdotal accounts from parents who successfully incorporated sign language into their baby’s daily routine. It was interesting to learn how several parents felt sign language improved their ability to meaningful bond with their child at a very young age (prior to 12 months in many instances). I wish I would have read this before becoming a mom. A must-read for new or soon-to-be parents! I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5 because the sign language photos and descriptions at the end of the book are a little confusing.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started off rolling my eyes at the testimonials of miracle babies who communicate clearly. However, the basic idea of teaching sign to your baby is sound. Allowing for more methods of communication with a child, developing language sense in a kinesthetic way, and supporting spoken language, sign is a great idea. The best tips: do it often, do it expressively (determining the signs of a baby without fine motor development is rough--big, expressive signs are easier to read).

[Jayme Swallow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy read to convince you to do baby sign. If you need a push over the edge or a reminder of why you sign with your kids, pick up this book!

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally fine book, but it's more about convincing you to sign. There's not much information density as far as learning tools and tips, which is saying something when there's only 75 pages to read.

[Katie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Am I going to sign this aggressively with Rowan, no. Am I going to maybe try a few more signs than I had originally planned, maybe.

[Lucinda Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really helped us start signing!

[Anlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/4

A short, easy read and full of practical advice you can implement right away (a blessing for parents everywhere!). I took a very fun baby sign language with Bill (William) at my local library and decided to read this book as a refresher and follow up. If you aren't sure you should sign with your baby (or older child) before reading this book, you certainly will be by the end. Better yet, you will even feel equipped to start signing.

Chapters about how to integrate signing and why signing is important alternate with brief "Kathleen's Coaching Corner" segments which are more generally about how to survive (and thrive) as a parent. The book is well-organized and efficient; no excess material thank goodness. Fascinating illustrations and success stories of signing are peppered throughout. My only issue was what I thought wasn't very nuanced analysis in the coaching corner on "You Can't Spoil a Baby" after Chapter 3. I think it more or less lambasts sleep training via "cry-it-out" proxy; most people don't know the difference. But this is a baby sign language book, after all, and it is superb on that topic.