The word is spreading. Sign language is a great way to communicate with pre-verbal babies and toddlers. New moms everywhere are grabbing American Sign Language books and absorbing them feverishly. Pregnancy classes are full of moms teaching each other basic sign language and day care centers across the country are training their teachers in sign language. Why would you do such a thing? Some of the benefits of signing are: Less frustration for baby - Imagine how it feels to grunt and point and not be able to ask for what you want. Put yourself in your baby's shoes. You're a baby. You've been playing and squealing and laughing and now your mouth is dry and you're really thirsty for milk. You grunt and point and whine for milk -- and your mother misunderstands and gives you a dry cracker instead, thinking you're hungry for a snack. You feel very frustrated and possibly angry. You might even throw the cracker back at your mother or hit her out of … [Read more...]