Nursery World - Hand in hand

Hands signs combined with spoken language and facial expressions can set children on track to becoming good communicators, says Lena Engel From birth, babies use facial expressions, physical gestures and crying to express their needs and to communicate how they feel. Generally, parents learn quickly to understand what their babies want and to interpret their moods correctly. Practical, positive responses accompanied by verbal reassurance are the tools that most parents use to accommodate the basic infant demands made on them.

From birth, babies use facial expressions, physical gestures and crying to express their needs and to communicate how they feel. Generally, parents learn quickly to understand what their babies want and to interpret their moods correctly. Practical, positive responses accompanied by verbal reassurance are the tools that most parents use to accommodate the basic infant demands made on them.

Usually, babies who are thriving, compliant and satisfied make parents feel proud, whereas unsettled and 'difficult' babies make parents feel unsure, anxious and worried. In may be that the methods of communication used with the unsettled babies have led to a misinterpretation of the messages passed between them and their parents. This failure means that some babies do not engage their parents' attention sufficiently, and in turn their parents do not respond satisfactorily. Baby signing can overcome this problem.

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