Most new mums will know how frustrating it is when your baby cries for no apparent reason.
Are they hungry? Tired? Is their nappy too wet? Have they got a tummy ache? The list is endless and all too familiar.
Young mum, Amanda Mccallum has designed a new baby sign language kit to help ease the frustration of mums, dads and babies across Australia and even the world.
Along with 2 mums from her playgroup who were keen to sign with their children, Amanda developed the baby sign language kit called Signing Stars.
The kit is based on the deaf language, Auslan and is for both hearing and non-hearing babies and toddlers.
There are 200 baby signs included in the kit.
Amanda told TODAY that most babies and toddlers would use around 20 signs regularly.
“The most common signs are ‘Mummy,’ ‘Daddy,’ ‘finished,’ ‘baby,’ ‘apple,’ ‘bath’ and ‘more’”
“The benefits of signing with baby include less frustration on behalf of mum, dad and baby, it's fun, promotes bonding and it enhances verbal skills and IQ up to 12 points.”
The kit contains 6 items: a DVD, removable stickers for around the house, flashcards, flip chart for the fridge and a key-ring with moving flashcards.
“The ‘moving flashcards’ have animated instructions for a ready handbag reference on how to do a particular sign.”
The mums behind Signing Stars have a background in psychology, design and marketing, and accounting.
Amanda says you can start teaching your baby to sign as early as six months.
“The key to success is lots of repetition and patience. Your persistence will pay off with your baby signing back to you at around 9-12 months,” she says.
“It takes a while - but it's worth it.”
Signing Stars retails for around $59.95 and is available from www.signingstars.com.au
