Even though newborns feed fairly regularly around the clock, most soon learn to sleep between night feeds and be wakeful after day feeds. Some, however, get night and day confused and tend to have at least one really long day sleep with some lengthy periods awake overnight. If this suits you and your family that is fine, but it is possible to change this pattern around if you want to.
- Make sure your baby has plenty of day feeds. If it has been 4 hours from the beginning of the last feed, wake him gently and offer a feed.
- Encourage good active play times before or after day feeds, when your baby is awake and alert.
- Keep night feeds ‘boring’. Keep the light low, try not to talk to him (a smile is OK), only change the nappy if you really need to, and get him back to bed and sleep as soon as you can.
- Even quite young babies tend to have one longer sleep in each 24 hours. If you want this at night, make sure he doesn’t get in the habit of having this sleep during the day. It is OK to wake a sleeping baby if you are trying to change a pattern.
March 8th, 2006
From Jamie Berke, Your Guide to Deafness / Hard of Hearing.
Is there anything cuter than seeing a little baby using sign language? It is more than just cute though — researchers have found that the use of sign language with babies does help to improve their language learning and IQs. So more and more parents are using sign language with their infants, whether they are hearing or deaf. It has long been known by parents of deaf children and deaf parents of hearing children, that young babies can learn to sign and communicate in basic ways before they learn to talk. What is new is the type of sign language often being promoted to hearing parents of hearing babies – it is not the true American Sign Language (ASL). Objections to this have been expressed by some people in the deaf community.
Baby Signing Does Not Hurt Speech Development
One of the best things about this trend being embraced by parents of nondeaf children, is that the research has clearly demonstrated that the use of sign language does not mean that a child will not learn to talk. For years, the deaf community’s advocates of ASL had to face the argument that if parents used sign language with their deaf children, the children would not learn to talk. Even today, some parents of deaf children with cochlear implants are told not to use sign language so that their children will maximize the use of sound for communication.
Baby Signing Does Have Educational Benefits
Several articles have been published on the use of sign language with babies. For example, a USA Today (July 5, 2000) article reported on the work of two researchers who had done a study involving two groups of children, one group that was taught baby signing and another group that was not. The researchers found that eight-year-olds who had learned a simple form of baby sign language using invented signs, did better on IQ tests than comparable children who had not learned baby sign language.
Babies Can Use Real American Sign Language
While anything that encourages the acceptance of sign language for communication is welcome, there is no need for parents to rely on a different form of sign language when there is plenty of video and book material available for learning American Sign Language.
Baby Sign Language Online
www.BabyHandsProductions.com has a 200-plus word video dictionary of the words it feels are most important for babies and toddlers, on its site.
www.SigningTime.com, has videos are for all ages (and the website offers video samples).
www.ASLPro.com has an ASL for Babies dictionary online, with video clips of adults signing.
Plus, there are online sign language dictionaries available for quick and easy reference. These dictionaries have either video/animation clips or clear illustrations, so that there is no misunderstanding about how to make a sign.
Baby Sign Language Companies and Classes
There has been explosive growth in the number of companies promoting baby sign language. Most of the companies offer video, print, and online resources for baby signing. For example, the promoters of signing to your baby using a form of sign language based on ASL, have a web site. The http://www.sign2me.com/ web site includes streaming video, an online store, and other promotional material. The FAQ states that the program is based on American Sign Language, and that it can provide a foundation for further learning of ASL.
A sampling of baby sign language companies and their offerings (disclaimer: Inclusion in this listing is not an endorsement):
www.SignBabies.com offers illustrated flash cards. Another set of flashcards is the Signing Smart series.
www.BabySigns.com has instructors offering classes nationally. The company also sells products such as a puppet, and a video series covering bedtime, mealtime, bathtime, and pets.
www.Signing4Babies.com sells an e-book on baby sign.
www.Kindersigns.com offers classes, a newsletter, and professional certification.
Baby sign language classes are increasingly popular. They are offered by private certified instructors, colleges, resource centers for deaf and hard of hearing people, recreation departments, and other community resources.
Baby Sign Language Community Websites
Baby signing community websites like http://www.signingbaby.com/offer FAQs, articles, message boards, and discussion lists.
NEW ZEALAND SIGNING SITE
www.baby-talk.co.nz
March 8th, 2006
