Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk »

Linda Acredolo,

Ph.D., Professor

Emeritus of

Psychology at the

University of

California at

Davis, is an

internationally recognized scholar in

the field of child development. She is

a Fellow of both the American

Psychological Association and the American Psychological

Society and has served as an associate editor of the prestigious

journal, Child Development. She is also a member of

the Parents magazine advisory board.

Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of

Psychology at the California State

University at Stanislaus, has served

as a project director and co-principle

investigator for several

longitudinal research projects

funded by the National Institutes of

Health and the Kellogg Foundation.

She currently serves as president of

Baby Signs, Inc., an infant and toddler educational products

company.

In 1982, child development experts Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., discovered that babies can communicate with simple signs-even before they're able to talk. The result: Baby Signs, the groundbreaking book that has changed parenting forever.

Library Journal

After studying baby sign language with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, Acredelo (psychology, Univ. of California, Davis) and Goldwyn (psychology, California State Univ., Stanislaus) conclude that babies who are taught to use signs to express basic ideas (e.g., fingers to the lips for eat, fingers raised in a V for bunny) before they can say the words are both happier because they can communicate with others and more adept at speaking once they begin to acquire language. This is not a scholarly exegesis of their findings but a practical, easy-to-use guide to teaching baby signs. The authors begin with an explanation of their findings and then offer a portfolio of suggested signs in which simple pictures are accompanied by description, memory aid, and suggested situations for use. The book has an upbeat, encouraging tone that parents will appreciate. Interestingly, Parenting magazine cited the authors' study in the "News and Reviews" section of the May 1996 issuebut failed to mention this book! For all parenting collections. Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Acknowledgments ix
Introducing Baby Signs 1
Where Baby Signs Fit in the Jigsaw Puzzle of 19
Language Getting Started with Baby Signs 33
Moving Beyond the "Beginner" Signs 50
Off and Running with Baby Signs 65
Baby Sign Stories 83
From Signs to Speech 95
Parents' Questions Answered 111
Sign Suggestions 127
Sign Time---Rhyme Time 147
Further Readings 165