If you’re a new parent you may have heard about baby sign language and have lots of questions. I taught my first two babies sign language and found it easy and quite rewarding.

First, it’s important to understand that baby sign language is no different than standard sign language. When you purchase a sign language program, your baby is actually learning ASL (American Sign Language) which is a great skill to have even as they grow from baby to toddler to child to adult. The term baby sign language simply came about as programs developed that focused on teaching sign language for terms that baby typically need to communicate, such as eat, drink, milk, more, potty, etc.

Next, you may be wondering why baby sign language is even important, after all babies eventually learn to talk at some point. The truth is, speaking language takes quite some time to develop. My oldest didn’t start really talking until after her second birthday. However, babies as young as six months can already learn a few basic signs and start communicating with these gestures. Not only is it fun to be able to communicate with your baby at such an early age, it’s quite handy. I really appreciated my baby being able to tell me she was crying because she was thirsty instead of hungry, or that she wanted more of something.

Finally, you may be wondering how you can teach your baby sign language. I review and tried a few baby sign language programs. There are various baby sign language books, flash cards, and videos. Many parents are familiar with the Baby Einstein program, and while I love their entertainment videos I did not like their sign language program. After trying several programs, the one that worked at educating and entertaining my babies was Signing Time.

Baby Signing Time DVD Collection – $ 99.99 This set includes all four volumes of Baby Signing Time on DVD, plus four music CDs with all the wonderful, original songs. Includes over 100 signs! Includes a free copy of Good Night Baby CD

As a parent, I appreciate how entertaining all of the Signing Time videos are. I even enjoy watching the videos. The songs are catchy, without being annoying. The images are fun and very family friendly. Finally, the words the Signing Time program teaches are exactly the ones I wanted to be able to communicate with my babies.

As a certified teacher, I am really impressed with the quality of the Signing Time videos. My second baby began picking up signs simply by watching the videos in the car while running errands about town. The songs help reinforce the words and signs. The repetition really gets little ones learning the words fast. A great touch to the Signing Time program is that every sign is first shown by the adult instructor and then by babies and toddlers, which really helps babies to get the signs right.

My oldest is four and a half now and she still sometimes uses her signs, simply because she enjoys communicating that way. In fact, she was signing the alphabet this morning. I think it’s a great skill to have. Maybe she’ll continue to learn new signs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she were someday fluent in sign language? That would be great to someday put on her college applications and later her job applications.

There are few baby products that I believe in as much as the Signing Time series.

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