Signing with your baby is a very popular way of communicating with your baby from an early age.  As I had learned to used BSL this was something I felt very strongly about doing with my children.

Infact my oldest child was able to sign to me 'mouth hurts' when he was teething at about 9 months.  From my experience it helps with hand to eye cordination, memory, language development.  My son is now 9 and sometimes uses signs to remind himself of the correct words when writing (for example there and their).  Eye contact can be improved and often when out in the playground I would only need to call his name, as he would turn and wait for signed instructions.   My youngest 2 had a vocabluary of about 30 words within 4 weeks, which is still increasing everyday. 

There are many resources out there for baby signing, most I found were based on American Sign Language.  But in my opinion why not start teaching signs that could be used in Britain.  All of my classes are based on British Sign Language (BSL).  Obviously I am not teaching babies and children BSL, what I am teaching is a recognition and respect for BSL alongside early communication with their parents.  If they wish, when they are adults to learn BSL then they already have an subconsious memory of some of its principles.

Signing with your baby will not affect its development of spoken language, infact it enhances your opportunity to pronounce the word correctly, as they sign the word you understand the 'word' they used and correctly pronounce it.

I have signed at Stage 2 level BSL for the last 10 years.  In my time signing I have signed church services for Deaf worshippers as a volunteer, as well as using sign language regularly at work and socially.  I now run a sign language choir based at a primary school in Stevenage.  The choir sign a mixture of BSL and Makaton (as some of the children already know makaton).

Lil'sign clubs are set out very similar to parent and toddler classes.  Sessions are two hours long and are booked in 4 week blocks around a theme.  Sessions starts with a theme based activity depending on the ages of the children in the group, then we have a sing with signing, then a little break for a drink and a chat, then we recap the signing and have a good sing/sign-along. 

Session times to be added soon please e-mail us, if you are interested in a group in your area. 

email: sue@maternaltouch.org.uk