"Mommy, Maman, Mamma, Mama"As most mothers to be when I got pregnant, I read a lot of articles about pregnancy, search the internet about baby tips, and read books about educational philosophies.
Unfortunately, none of those books and articles mentioned one particular subject that was dear to me. Besides the obvious "hunger, hurt, diaper change", I wanted to know how to know why my baby would be crying and what I could do about it. I really wanted to be in a relationship with my baby. I was afraid of not being able to understand "baby talk" as he grows and having to deal with possible tantrums. Precisely because I did not understood the "baby talk" in the first place. After several months of research, I came across a study about babies' capacity to "talk" before speaking: Baby Sign Language. As it got more and more interesting and I could really see the value of that gem I decided to give it a try with my baby once born. It did not take long before I realised that my son and I were communicating even though he was only 4 months old! And it only got better and better as he was growing and learning more and more signs. At 15 months old my son was making sentences both in speech and in sign language. At 2 years old he was fully signing and speaking. He could hold "conversations" with me and others around him. Being in a multi lingual family, he could speak 3 languages fluently by the age of 3. His speech development was amazing! The most important thing for me was that fact that I could understand him when he wanted or needed something. And the fact that he could share so much more about how he was viewing the world around him. It was absolutely fascinating for me the way he saw the world and a privilege to be able to share it.
I quickly started to talk to friends and other moms around me about this incredible tool that is baby sign language. And I am now sharing my experience with you. I would love for you to experience that same feeling I had when I could finally understand him. Oh! The feeling of relief when the cries, screams and tantrums finally stop because there is a translator in the house... GOLD! |
"Mamoona" is a sweet nickname my son used to call me as a toddler. |
Perfect for Bilingual & Multilingual Families
A family with a French mother, a German father and living in England. Their children could be speaking 3 languages. How wonderful and lucky, don't you think?
However because they do not want to overwhelm the children, parents will speak mainly in English. It is the "functional" language of the country they currently live in (school, TV, radio, work... etc) and also the "relationship" language between the parents.
This shortfall (ie the ability to speak 3 languages) is very unfortunate.
Parents will try somehow during holidays to improve their children linguistic levels both in German and French. But most children become unwilling, indifferent or resist. Therefore they will end up communicating in English, their most comfortable language.
Thanks to MaMoona method, no need to select which language to start with.
The goal is to use Baby Sign Language as a bridge between all languages.
This is extremely effective since 1 sign = 1,2,3 or more languages.
The goal is to use Baby Sign Language as a bridge between all languages.
This is extremely effective since 1 sign = 1,2,3 or more languages.
1 Sign = Any Language
After discussing with several other families during parent - children meeting groups, I realised that a lot of parents were a little confused as to which language to introduce first to their children.
Should it be the language of the country they are living now, the father's language, the mother's?
We know the many benefits of Baby Sign Language. We want to push the process further.
We help bilingual & multilingual parents give their children the opportunity to better communicate.
But also to understand and speak the languages of both parents and of the country they live in.
For example: Your child already knows the word "rabbit" in English.
But if you try to tell him "lapin" in French, your toddler will not necessarily know what it is just by hearing the word.
However try signing while saying the word "lapin" and you will see his/her face lighting up! He knows what it is!
This is because s/he has memorised the sign and knows its meaning, learning a new word in another language will then take not time at all and is extremely easy!
Should it be the language of the country they are living now, the father's language, the mother's?
We know the many benefits of Baby Sign Language. We want to push the process further.
We help bilingual & multilingual parents give their children the opportunity to better communicate.
But also to understand and speak the languages of both parents and of the country they live in.
For example: Your child already knows the word "rabbit" in English.
But if you try to tell him "lapin" in French, your toddler will not necessarily know what it is just by hearing the word.
However try signing while saying the word "lapin" and you will see his/her face lighting up! He knows what it is!
This is because s/he has memorised the sign and knows its meaning, learning a new word in another language will then take not time at all and is extremely easy!
FANTASTIC COMMUNICATION TOOL
Imagine your baby at 6 months old being mentally able to communicate with you but unable to do so because he has not yet mastered speech.
He has to wait until he has developed his fine motor skills.
You can only guess how that leads to frustration, cries and screams as these are the only ways he finds in order to not only get your attention but also what he needs or wants.
Signs are extremely easy for babies to physically copy.
Notice how babies wave goodbye or imitate gestures that you might do in your daily life?
Baby Sign Language is no different.
It just channels the gestures into meaning something useful for you and your baby.
Talking requires a lot of complex, fine motor skills. On the other side, hand coordination is learnt and mastered much faster and earlier. So even though our babies understand their world and want to communicate what they feel, need or want, at a very young age, they simply cannot, which you can agree is extremely frustrating for them.
So, they have to wait for their speech to be optimum and have control over their fine motor skills to talk to us. Unfortunately this is a waste of time leading to frustration and incomprehension for parents and babies.
Baby Sign Language is perfect as s/he only needs basic gross motor skills in order for your baby to communicate back to you.
TOP ADVANTAGES OF BSL
Baby Sign Language by MaMoona
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photo credits: pixabay & freepik