How to Teach a Baby to Sign

Singing and Signing Helps Pre-speech Children Communicate
There are many forms of sign language around the world, almost as many as there are different spoken languages. Most are used by the deaf and hearing-impaired communities (American Sign Language – ASL – is used by over a million people, and it is the third most used language in the USA), and here the signs need to be precise and conform closely to the agreed model. This is not so with "baby signing".
Baby Signing

The aim here is to teach pre-speech babies a set of useful signs that will help them communicate with their mother (or father or carer) before they can produce the sounds necessary for speech. Each sign is accompanied by the spoken word, and typically the young child will learn to understand spoken language long before he/she can speak.

The ability to reply (using signs) before the baby can speak clearly helps the baby develop in many ways:

* it is claimed that signing (between parents, carers and pre-language babies) helps the child to develop vocabulary and aids mental development, while it also reduces tantrums resulting from frustration (at the lack of the ability to communicate needs and feelings)

* it is also claimed to improve the parent/carer-child relationship, and helps the baby learn to concentrate (eye-contact, signing and speech require the child to focus on one object or feeling at a time)

Since the signs are intended to be used for a brief period only (between about 6 months and 2 years or so), and since they are primarily intended to be used within the family, "baby signs" do not need to be very precise. All that is important is that the mother (father/carer) understands.

Singing and Signing with Babies
In many parts of the UK, groups of mothers (typically) with babies get together for an hour or so each week to "Sing and Sign". An instructor leads the group through a number of nursery rhyme type songs accompanied by the appropriate hand signs (signs learnt in previous sessions). Each week three or four new signs are added, and the signing vocabulary of the mothers increases. The babies/toddlers crawl around freely and interact with one-another or simply explore. Despite the fact that they are not required to "pay attention" the children seem to pick up the songs rapidly, and the mothers can reinforce the signs during the week. (By: John Blatchford, Suite101.com)

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How to Teach Your Baby to Talk

How to Teach Your Baby to Talk. My son started talking at a very early age. By the time he was one year old, he knew about 50 words and could put three or four together to create simple sentences. Everyone was always so surprised to hear such a young baby talk so plainly. Several people asked me how I had been able to teach him so many words. All babies are different, and each one will learn at his or her own pace. There are a few things I did with my son that I feel really helped him along the way.

Read Read Read
I started reading and talking to my baby while I was pregnant with him. The day I found out I was pregnant, I got some children's books to read to my unborn child. I didn't stop there, if I was reading the newspaper or a magazine I read that out loud, too. When I was searching through the parenting websites I was reading out loud any bits of valuable information I found. My husband thought I was crazy sometimes, but I really think it helped. Now that he is one year old, he will not go to bed without a bedtime story.

Encourage Your Baby
Even if he isn't forming any real words yet, let your baby know he is doing a great job when he starts making a new sound. It's great when people appreciate the things you do. Babies thrive on attention so they will keep trying to please you and eventually start saying real words. When they finally do get those precious words out, clap or cheer for them. Do what makes your baby happy. He deserves all that good attention when he reaches such a big accomplishment.

Don't Push Too Hard
It's tempting to sit in front of baby and repeatedly ask him to "Say Mama, say Mama," but this usually doesn't work. Baby gets bored of listening to you repeat the same two words over and over without really meaning anything. He will eventually start tuning you out. If he does actually repeat the words, he probably doesn't really know what he is saying, he is just imitating his favorite person. (By Carla Blair, associatedcontent.com)

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Teach Your Baby to Spell

Article Source: ezinearticles.com by Krista Guerrero

Let's face it; babies have some amazing brain development happening the first five years of life. The things they learn in those early years are nothing short of fantastic. They go from doing practically nothing to crawling, walking, and running, then babbling, saying a few words, and by two years old are usually speaking full sentences. It is almost as though they learn all these things on accident. However if we understand how babies learn, we can teach them much more on purpose.

I know of many babies that can read, and I know of others that can spell. It is not hard to give your baby some simple spelling lessons. If you use alphabet toys, such as blocks, magnetic letters or foam bathtub letters, this happens naturally.

By playing with letters and telling your baby what the words you form say, you are teaching your baby to read. You can simply teach your baby to spell by pointing to each letter and naming them when you form words. If you make alphabet play a part of your routine, your baby will easily be able to spell out their name and many other words in no time.

Children that are taught to sign as babies naturally learn spelling because there are words that are finger spelled. When we spell out many words, they can be spoken like a chant, making their spelling easy to remember. My children learned to spell their names and all the names of their family members from an early age. They heard this being done repeatedly and learned to spell many words with no effort.

There are little chants to help children spell words such as Mississippi and encyclopedia. These are fun to do with children of all ages. We can encourage our children to be great spellers by just making word play a fun part of our day. You can have magnetic letters and play around with names of family members on the refrigerator. You can progress from there to rhyming words and names of objects around the house.

Teaching babies to spell in this way is simple and fun to do.

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How to Teach a Baby to Walk

All babies develop differently, but according to parenting.com, most of them start walking somewhere between 9 and 18 months old. They start by trying to pull themselves up to a standing position. They eventually start to toddle a few steps before falling back down. As parents, it's natural to want to encourage your baby to walk. Listed below are a few simple steps you can do to encourage your baby to take her first steps.

Instructions
1. Provide a soft, but sturdy object for your baby to practice pulling up on. An ottoman usually works well. Place her at the base and stand her up for a few seconds. This will let her know that it's alright to stand up at it.

2. Place new toys in slightly high places. This is a true motivator for a curious baby. They will stand and toddle over to the toy without much help. It could take a few tries, but your little one will get it.

3. Place your baby in a bouncer. He can exercise his legs bouncing up and down, which will make him stronger and ready for walking.

4. Hold your baby's hands and practice walking with him. Not much takes the place of having a role model.

Tips & Warnings
Make sure the area around the ottoman, or whatever object you use, is clear. Check all baby toys for safety recalls. Keep areas free of dangerous objects. (By Jennifer Elrod, ehow.com)

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10 Ways to Teach Baby to Eat Healthy

It is never too early to learn how to eat well! Teach your baby the importance of good food and ensure that your little one establishes healthy eating habits that will last her a lifetime.

The rapid rise in childhood obesity is a growing health concern in the United States. These conditions have risen to epidemic levels among all ages, including young children. One of the primary causes of overweight problems in children is poor eating habits. Interestingly, babies begin acquiring eating habits from their first bites of food. A Baylor College study even suggests that by age three, most of a child's eating preferences are established. The message here is clear—if you want your child to have healthy eating habits, it is important to focus on them early.

Developing eating habits and food preferences is a learned process, like sleeping through the night, toilet training, and other developmental skills. Ensuring your child has the ability to make healthy food choices is critical. For your child to learn, active adult involvement—parents' and caregivers' time and energy—is required.

For babies, developing healthy eating habits doesn't mean dieting, of course. Unless your baby's diet is under the supervision of a healthcare provider, it is not necessary to count calories or choose low-fat or nonfat foods. A healthy diet for babies is simply a matter of providing a good variety of healthy foods and limiting the consumption of most processed foods. Along with introducing your baby to a wholesome diet, here are some tips and activities that will support developing healthful eating habits.

1. Be a good role model.
Babies learn through mimicking you and others around them. If you talk negatively about fruits and vegetables or don't eat them much, your baby will have a tough time accepting them. Remember, your baby will respond to what you like.

2. Take your baby to the store or a local farm stand.
Begin introducing your baby to fruits and vegetables. Teach him the names of different types of produce. Talk to him about the wonderful colors, great smells, and varied textures.

3. Talk positively about produce.
Let your baby know what he is eating when you are feeding him, what vitamins and minerals he is getting, and how important nutrients are for growing bigger and stronger.

4. Encourage drinking water.
Water aids in digestion, regulates body temperature, delivers nutrients to cells, and carries away waste. As your baby is introduced to solid food, the need for water grows. If your baby is older than six months, you can safely offer her water. A good portion is two to four ounces at each meal. Get in the habit of offering water over juice (or dramatically cutting juice with two-thirds to three-fourths parts water).

5. Don't give up. A baby's tastes change daily.
Just because your baby spit out peas one day doesn't mean he hates them. Unless he has demonstrated an allergic reaction, try the food again in a couple of days—you may be pleasantly surprised.

6. Offer variety to ensure a balanced diet.
All foods contain different vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Eating a variety of healthy foods will naturally lead to a balanced diet. When your baby first starts eating, quantity is not as important as variety.

7. Don't be in a rush.
Many babies are slow eaters, and this is a good habit to encourage. Many of us don't plan enough time to eat meals and often find ourselves shoveling food in—this is one of the worst eating habits that you can teach your baby. Instead, plan plenty of time for meals so you and your baby can relax and enjoy the experience.

8. Have a feeding schedule.
Babies have small tummies and fluctuating appetites, so four to six mini meals a day are recommended by many healthcare professionals, including well-known baby experts Dr. William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN. Opt for frequent smaller meals over the traditional three large meals. Establishing set times for these meals will help your baby learn a routine.

9. Never force babies to clean their plates.
Your baby will eat when she is hungry, and she will eat the types of food her body needs most. During meals, allow her to eat as much or little as she wants.

10. Make mealtimes a family event.
Whenever it is practical, the whole family should eat together. This will encourage your baby to interact with others at mealtime and to begin experiencing a sense of social interaction. (Copas from: babyzone.com)

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Teaching Babies to Read

Reading is a complex skill which builds upon a number of other skills. For example, reading is in part a visual skill, in that it involves the ability to discriminate letters and words. But it also involves the muscular control that allows the child to explore a page from left to right and from top to bottom. It is also an auditory skill that requires the child to discriminate the basic sounds of his or her native language and eventually to begin to associate these sounds with the printed word. Last but not least, reading is a cognitive skill because it requires understanding and interpretation.

The research on reading is quite abundant and quite consistent in showing that this skill most effectively taught only after the child has attained ability to learn and to follow rules, usually the age range of five to seven. This is true because it takes years for children to acquire the many pre-reading skills required to profit from formal reading instruction. The cross-cultural research is quite dramatic in this regard. In Scandinavian countries and in Russia, reading is usually not taught until the age of six or seven. Children in these countries exhibit few reading problems. In France, with state supported preschools, reading is taught at age three and 30 percent of French children have reading problems. A recent comprehensive book on reading relates it to brain development as well as experience, but comes to the same conclusions. (Wolf 2007)

Despite the research, there are those who insist that parents can teach their infants to read, if they will only buy the magical system they have to offer. One of the first to make this kind of offer was Glen Doman (Doman 1967) with his "How to Teach Your Baby to Read". He argued that because the brain is growing rapidly during the first years this is the time to teach reading and math. (This claim always puzzles me. As a gardener one of the first rules I learned was never to prune during the growing season). Although Doman, and now his daughter (Doman 2007) have been selling the program for more than forty years, they have no follow up studies to demonstrate its effectiveness. Others (e.g., “Monki See, Monki Doo”) (Author 2007) have gotten on the same bandwagon and make the same bogus claims, e.g., “ A one year old learns better than a two year old.” Those who sell these materials offer no research or other evidence in support of their arguments. The purveyors of infant learning to read products build on parent anxieties to sell a product that is likely to do more harm than good.

The best preparation for learning to read is a language rich environment. This environment is created when you sing, talk and read to your child beginning in infancy. (Copas from: http://www.justaskbaby.com/blogs/professor-elkind/teaching-babies-to-read)

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Makan dong, Sayang!

Faktanya, kebanyakan batita bersedia mencoba jenis makanan baru setelah diperkenalkan sekitar 10-15 kali. Anda pun tidak mesti memperkenalkan banyak makanan sekaligus.

Usaha keras Anda menyajikan makanan kaya gizi tiba-tiba seperti lenyap ketika anak batita Anda dengan entengnya menolak makanan yang telah Anda siapkan dengan penuh cinta. Kesal? Tenang, jangan dimasukkan ke hati. Memilih-milih makanan sebetulnya bagian dari perkembangan batita.

Sebagian anak batita mau memakan apa saja. Sebaliknya, cukup banyak pula anak batita yang memilih-milih makanan tanpa alasan yang jelas. Mereka melahap sayur bayam yang Anda hidangkan dengan penuh semangat namun tiga hari kemudian, mereka menolak memakannya. Anda tidak perlu bingung dengan perubahan sikap itu. Seiring dengan pertumbuhannya, batita mulai ingin menunjukkan identitas diri. Mereka ingin menunjukkan kekuasaan menentukan apa yang mereka inginkan, termasuk dalam soal makanan.

Usia dini adalah suatu periode pertumbuhan yang tidak berlangsung secepat satu tahun pertama kehidupan anak. Melewati usia 1 tahun, pertambahan berat badan batita pun menjadi lebih lambat. Selain itu, ukuran perut batita sebenarnya tidak melebihi satu kepal tangan mereka sendiri. Dengan demikian, berbeda dengan orang dewasa, mereka belum membutuhkan banyak kalori.

Menurut ahli gizi keluarga, Dr.Cindiawaty Pudjiadi MARS, MS, SpGK, jka seorang ibu, secara tidak sadar mengarahkan anak untuk memakan jenis makanan tertentu saja, maka si anak mungkin akan menjadi pemilih dalam soal makanan. “Ini bisa terjadi jika orang tua membatasi jenis makanan dan kurang memperkenalkan variasi makanan. Jadi, anak tidak terbiasa mengonsumsi makanan selain yang sering dia makan,” katanya.

Jika si kecil terlihat tidak menyukai sayuran yang Anda hidangkan, ada baiknya Anda introspeksi terhadap pola makan Anda sendiri selama ini. Apakah Anda seorang yang gemar menyantap sayuran atau malah sebaliknya. “Kalau ibunya tidak suka sayur, dia tidak akan memperkenalkan sayur ke anak. Otomatis anak akan mengikuti pola makan ibunya,” Cindiawaty menjelaskan.

Memang dibutuhkan kesabaran ekstra jika Anda ingin si kecil tidak rewel dalam soal makanan. Bukan hanya sabar dalam menghadapi penolakan anak terhadap makanan yang telah Anda olah dengan susah payah, Anda juga harus sabar dalam memperkenalkan makanan yang bervariasi. Faktanya, kebanyakan batita bersedia mencoba jenis makanan baru setelah diperkenalkan sekitar 10-15 kali. Selain itu, Anda pun tidak mesti memperkenalkan banyak makanan sekaligus. Harus satu persatu.

Berpikir kreatif
Anak-anak belum mengetahui manfaat nutrisi dalam makanan terhadap pertumbuhan mereka. Mereka lebih tertarik dengan rasa dan penampilannya. Jadi, percuma saja Anda menyajikan makanan sarat gizi jika penampilannya tidak menarik. Bayangkan, nasi dan daun bayam diblender. Coba hidangkan bubur berwarna hijau tua itu kepada si kecil sambil mengatakan betapa banyak gizi yang ada di bubur itu. Kemungkinan besar anak tidak akan tertarik. Jika Anda sendiri kehilangan minat untuk makan saat melihat hasil kreasi sendiri, apalagi anak. “Bisa jadi acara makan yang seharusnya menyenangkan malah menjadi pengalaman traumatik karena anak harus menyantap makanan yang tampilannya tidak menarik,” kata Cindiawaty, yang berpraktik di Rumah Sakit Medistra, Jakarta.

Anda tidak perlu menjadi seorang ahli memasak atau ahli menghias makanan demi menarik perhatian si kecil. Yang Anda butuhkan hanyalah beberapa langkah sederhana serta sedikit kreativitas. Berikut adalah beberapa taktik yang dapat Anda lakukan.

Sayuran artistik. Anda bisa mencoba untuk membuat wajah dari sayuran, misalnya dua iris tomat untuk mata, wortel yang dipotong tipis memanjang untuk hidung, sepotong buncis untuk bibir yang sedang tersenyum, dan potongan daun brokoli untuk rambut.

Smoothie. Saat ingin mengenalkan buah-buahan kepada si kecil, Anda tidak perlu selalu berpaku pada bentuk buah yang padat. Anda bisa membuat smoothie, misalnya dengan memblender susu dan stroberi.

Potongan yang menarik. Percantik tampilan buah-buahan dengan menggunakan cetakan kue aneka bentuk daripada hanya memotongnya menjadi bentuk balok persegi empat dengan menggunakan pisau. Sangat mungkin anak akan tertarik menyantap buah karena melihat pepaya berbentuk bintang atau melon berbentuk hati tertata manis di atas piring.

Bermain warna. Gunakan piring ceper untuk menyajikan apel, pisang, brokoli, wortel, buncis dan keju yang Anda potong dalam beragam bentuk. Jangan lupa untuk menamai potongan-potongan makanan tersebut sebelum meminta si kecil untuk memilih potongan yang akan disantap. Misalnya, “apel bulan” untuk menyebut apel yang dipotong bulat tipis, “pedang keju” untuk menyebut keju yang dipotong memanjang, “pohon brokoli” untuk menyebut potongan daun brokoli, dan lain sebagainya. Kemudian katakan, “Ayo, Ade mau makan yang mana? Apel bulan, pedang keju, atau pohon brokoli?”

Bersandiwara. Tidak sekadar menyajikan makanan dengan bentuk yang menarik perhatian, ada kalanya Anda juga perlu menyelipkan permainan kecil sehingga anak tidak merasa dipaksa untuk makan. Anda bisa berkata, “Ade, ini ada pesawat mau mendarat. Ayo buka mulutnya.” Cara inilah yang digunakan Lusi, 30 tahun, saat menyuapi Dicky, putranya yang berusia tiga tahun. “Saat menyuapi Dicky, saya sering menyebutkan nama tokoh-tokoh kartun kesayangannya, misalnya dari kartun Tom&Jerry, ‘Jerry sedang dikejar-kejar Tom. Ayo Dicky cepat buka mulutnya agar Jerry selamat.’ Dengan cara ini, anak saya bersemangat makan,” tutur ibu yang tinggal di Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta itu. (sumber: http://parentsindonesia.com/content/view/25/28/)

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Teaching Your Baby to Speak

Your baby's repertoire of sounds and syllables starts to expand between now and her first birthday. Over the next few months, she'll slowly begin adding consonants, beginning with the explosives P and B and the humming M. The combinations of vowels and consonants will, for the first time, make it sound as though your baby is talking to you. She may sound, for example, as though she's saying, "Maaaamaaaa, Maaamaaa" and "Paapaa, Paapaa." But don't kid yourself. Your baby's not calling you by name just yet. These words mean just as much (or as little) to her as "Baaabaaa, Baaabaaa." At this stage, she's just having fun making noise.

By five or six months, your baby will string sounds together in a meaningless yet always sweet-sounding babble. This babble serves as good practice for later conversations. By six months, your baby will probably want to practice her new "language" skills with anyone who's willing to listen. Six months is a very social age. Your child will most likely welcome the company of others and will start talking (saying gaga or baba) to almost anyone.
Can We Talk?

As soon as your baby starts making vowel sounds, he starts to consider himself a real conversationalist. It hardly matters that you can't understand him and he can't understand you. (After all, the same is true of many conversations between adults.) Your baby wants to talk to you the same way he's heard you talk to others.

You may be surprised the first time your baby seems to wait for you to respond to his babbling. It seems incredible that in just six months, he's picked up the nuances of conversational style. When he starts pausing (perhaps to make sure you're listening), you can have an entire babbling conversation. First your baby talks and you listen; then he knows it's his turn to listen and your turn to talk. Indeed, because he stops to listen when you talk, you may find your infant much more civil than many adult conversationalists.

When your baby tries to have a "conversation" with you, be polite. Respond to your baby as you would to any adult who started to talk to you. Stop what you're doing (at least some of the time) and engage in face-to-face conversation. Listen to his babbling. When your baby pauses, he's probably waiting for your reply. (You may even hear his voice rise just before he pauses, as if he were asking you a question.) You can respond using real words, or you can echo your baby's sounds. As soon as you stop talking, your baby may start up again, trying to keep the conversation going.

Talking to your baby is not only polite; it speeds up your child's learning process. In general, the more you talk, the more your baby will try to talk. When your baby starts babbling conversations with you, at least initially, he's getting some social practice. But in the coming months, your conversations will become a tool for your baby to learn more complex sounds. Talk a lot to your baby if you can, but don't monopolize the conversation. Remember to give your infant a chance to talk while you listen.[life.familyeducation.com]

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