Parenting Articles

Signing Turns Your Child’s Brain On

By / 2 minutes of reading

All of our children have normal hearing and don’t have any behavior or physical conditions. But we wanted to communicate early with our babies, and give them the tools to communicate with us.  And it worked! When our first daughter was about 6 months old, we introduced her to the first volume of Baby Signing Time. She loved the show and began signing to us. We also signed multiple things to her.  By the time she was 1 year old, she could sign 50 words. Over the next few months, she learned 100 more! We were so impressed. It really helped …

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Signing with Hard of Hearing Children

By / 1 minute of reading

Hi, my name is Marisa and I’m a momma bear of 4 kiddos, 3 of which are HOH (hard-of-hearing), and wear hearing aids. I have 3 boys and one girl, ages 11, 8, 2 and 9-months. “Signing Time” was one of the first resources I found, over 10 years ago, when my first son was diagnosed with hearing loss. Your videos made a sometimes hard and solemn time more enjoyable and fun. They were a way to connect with my babies when I felt so disconnected from them. I am now almost fluent in sign language and am teaching my …

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What’s Your Sign?

By / 3 minutes of reading

Originally on The Dadventurist 2/9/2017 published with permission Tilley reaches her chubby little arm up into the air, stretches out her fingers, then balls them up into a fist and repeats. My wife and I leap from our seats, after months of practice, Tilley has thrown up here first sign, and its ‘Milk’. Even before we had our first daughter my wife and I agreed that learning two languages is a great exercise for kids. Not only does it give them an extra skill but helps them with adaptive thinking. There was just one problem, neither of us was fluent in any …

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Sharing my saddest and happiest days as a mother!

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(originally published in The Adoption Constellation Magazine) #birthmother #adoption #reunion#mylaura Shared by Rachel Coleman on Facebook May 12, 2017 Happiness 1992 My first daughter was born on February 12, 1992. I was seventeen-years-old. I signed the papers relinquishing my parental rights on Valentine’s Day. The legalities were complete. In my next moment alone with my daughter I whispered in her ear, “I relinquished my rights, but I will never relinquish my love.” The following day, I secured her in a car seat. I kissed her, and through torrential tears I said, “good-bye,” then I stopped, turned back to my tiny …

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Welcome to a World of Communication through Baby Sign Language

By / 4 minutes of reading

We’re thrilled to provide so many free resources that will help you incorporate sign language in your daily life. Thank you for signing with us!   White Paper: Signing with Babies and Children A comprehensive summary of the academic research on the impact of signing on cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional development  Written by Dr. Claire Vallotton Michigan State University Commissioned by Two Little Hands Productions   Download Signing with Babies and Children Now Free Resources Baby Sign Time Parent Guide Download a Signing Checklist so you can track your baby’s progress. Baby Signing Time Progress Chart  Signing Promotes Reading Elizabeth Barrett …

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Signing Time Academy Instructors are Teaching Girls Scouts How to Sign

By / 5 minutes of reading

After seeing the following video and post last week we reached out to theGirl Scouts of the USA to ask permission to share it with you. We wanted to share what some of the Signing Time Academy Instructors are doing to teach Girls Scouts how to sign. While selling Girl Scout Cookies with her dad, 9-year-old Phoenyx ran into a cookie customer who was deaf. Writing on a slip of paper, the customer asked Phoenyx to return later, when someone else would be home. This one incident inspired this go-getting Girl Scout to learn ASL—not only to communicate with cookie customers …

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Signing Time and Our Journey As a Special Needs Family

By / 4 minutes of reading

by Lisa T. American Sign Language has been an invaluable blessing to my family. Our three-year-old daughter, June, has complex medical needs including a tracheostomy which prevents her from vocalizing. American Sign Language allows June to communicate with us and to acquire a rich, complete language during these vital early years of brain development. Signing Time enabled us to start learning ASL as a family and to share this language with others. When June received a tracheostomy at 2 months old, doctors did not know if or when she would be able to vocalize. At that time, my husband, my …

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Signing and Screen Time

By / 2 minutes of reading

Screen time is the number of hours a person spends each day in front of a computer, mobile device, or television, watching movies or playing video games. Our living rooms are filled with smart phones, tablets, iPods, computers, televisions, movies, gaming system, and more. As parents we wonder what we can do to manage and optimize our kids’ screen time. Recently, The American Academy of Pediatrics released released media guidelines for parents of infants and toddlers. The guidelines had not been updated since 1999, and much has changed since then. These guidelines, while welcome, did not specifically address signing, which encourages the kinds of parent-child interaction that the AAP recommends. A recent Emory University …

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Supporting Down Syndrome Awareness Month

By / 3 minutes of reading

The Signing Time Foundation is proud to be a long-standing supporter of children with Down syndrome and their families.  Signing Time Co-founder Rachel Coleman can often be found at the National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walks around the country. We’ve been working hard to build a great database of resources for you to use when signing with children who have Down syndrome. You can also see children with Down syndrome demonstrating signs in our shows. We have seen the benefits of using American Sign Language to assist with communication for children who have Down syndrome. These children sometimes find it difficult to express themselves verbally. …

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American Sign Language and Apraxia of Speech

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Children with Apraxia of Speech experience difficulties when the muscles involved in forming the sounds do not work properly. This makes it hard to say their words. Children with Apraxia and other speech and language disorders have difficulty communicating their wants and needs, which leads to high levels of frustration. By using American Sign Language (ASL), children can overcome barriers to spoken language and successfully communicate. This success gives them a sense of empowerment, which can lead to increased self-esteem and confidence. As a pediatric SLP, I always knew that I wanted my kids to learn simple signs and have access to communication at …

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