William Paul White - Signs of a Happy Baby: The Baby Sign Language Book

Signs of a Happy Baby

Advance Praise

I really enjoyed signing with my first baby very early on. When she was just four months old we started with the basics, and by around seven months she was signing back to me. Baby sign language made it so much easier to communicate with my daughter before she started speaking verbally, especially around meal time, and I really got to know my daughters likes and dislikes, interests and ideas. Signs of a Happy Baby places everything you need to know about signing with your baby neatly in one place, including great tips, a comprehensive photo dictionary of signs, and lots of ideas on how to include baby sign language into your everyday routines. Its a great resource to have on hand and Im looking forward to using it with my next child as well!

Leah Busque , Executive Chairwoman and Founder, TaskRabbit

Being a new parent means youre anxious. You might fall more to the left or right of the anxiety continuum, but make no mistake youre there. Learning infant sign language greatly helped ease my wifes and my anxiety as new parents and it was fun! I was fortunate enough to take Bill Whites class and started signing with my daughter, Haley, when she was about six months old. I taught my wife what I was learning (while she wisely chose to sleep in while I went to class). The benefit for us was we could much better understand what our daughter was communicating to us in very garbled sounds. Signed words such as all done and pain became immeasurably valuable. For that reason, I encourage all expectant and new parents to considering learning infant sign language. What Bill and Kathleen have created with this book provides a deep context for understanding why signing is so important to your infant. Additionally, they map out what to expect, when to expect it, and everything else in between with this new skill. Their personal story and advice are entertaining, fun to read, and very useful. Enjoy this book!

Scott Brown , MPH RD, Health Education Director
at Kaiser Permanente, Redwood City

Baby sign language is, as my five-year-old would say, Magic, for real. Not only is it the ultimate tantrum-tamer via being able to communicate needs and wants prior to verbal ability catching up it is also a tool for mindful, gentle discipline: less frustrated toddlers lead to less frustrated parents. It helps little ones share their fears and hurts, as well as what excites them, long before they can speak verbally. Harper and White have written an inspirational and helpful resource for parents to help them learn how to foster early communication with their children through baby sign language.

Sabrina Freidenfelds , MPH, IBCLC, Founder of Then Comes Baby, a
pregnancy and new parent resource center in Oakland, California

Signing with a baby or toddler can open up your world in ways youve never imagined! It starts with simple, intuitive gestures and can progress to a complete additional language in your home. I highly recommend signing for anyone working with babies and children across the spectrum of developmental abilities and temperaments. This book is like having Bill and Kathleen as your private coaches they will inspire you and help you easily incorporate signing into your everyday practices of parenting, teaching, caregiving, and nurturing your little one.

Dr. Tricia Tayama , Pediatrician

Brimming with tips and tools for getting started with baby sign language, Signs of a Happy Baby is a practical resource for any parent who wants to know whats going on in their babys mind. Learning how to sign with your baby will create a wide-open window to what fascinates your baby, months and months before your baby will be able to tell you verbally. Ive seen first-hand how Bills baby sign language classes build parents signing skills so they can better communicate with their babies, which deepens the bonds between parents and their children. Baby sign language is not only a fun activity for families but a valuable tool for childrens language development. Bill and Kathleens book is the perfect way to start.

Mora Oommen , Executive Director,
Blossom Birth Services in Palo Alto, California

During workshops and classes, Bills passion about baby sign language is clearly evident as he demonstrates signs and discusses the importance and benefits of signing with your child. Bill and Kathleen did a fantastic job translating that same energy and enthusiasm into this book; it is hard not to be inspired by their teachings! Signs of a Happy Baby is a wonderful resource that provides parents and caregivers important information about how to get started signing with your infant and provides a large vocabulary base complete with photos. Also, and maybe even more importantly, this book motivates you to get started right away by providing you with meaningful stories of the successes parents have had using baby sign language with their child. Its a must-read resource!

Julie Dingmann , Infant/Toddler
Program Coordinator, CCLC, Families@1st at Cisco

Baby Sign Language is an instrumental tool in empowering babies and young children to communicate and express their needs and thoughts while they are pre-verbal and developing spoken language. Bill White is the paramount educator in his field and has brought deeper bonds, more attuned parenting, and fun to countless families, including mine. We are forever grateful for his work, both personally and within our community.

Ginny Colbert , Education Director at Natural Resources, San Francisco

Signs of a Happy Baby will convince you to start signing with your baby right away. The authors have written a smart guide thats not only fun, but filled with research showing how baby sign language helps build your childs language and cognitive skills, allowing your childs thoughts and feelings to be expressed, long before verbal communication is possible. This book is a must for anyone who has or is working with a little one.

Sheila Dukas-Janakos , MPH, IBCLC,
Owner of Healthy Horizons Peninsula Breastfeeding Center

Signs of a

Happy Baby

The Baby
Sign Language Book

William Paul White and
Kathleen Ann Harper

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

Signs of a Happy Baby

The Baby Sign Language Book

2018 William Paul White and Kathleen Ann Harper

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

The Morgan James Speakers Group can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event visit The Morgan James Speakers Group at
www.TheMorganJamesSpeakersGroup.com.

ISBN 978-1-68350-209-8 paperback

ISBN 978-1-68350-211-1 eBook

ISBN 978-1-68350-210-4 hardcover

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016914239

Cover Design by:

Heidi Miller

Editing: Grace Kerina

Authors photo courtesy of Christopher White, Photographer, littlebluemarblegallery.com

ASL Sign Language Dictionary photo credits:

Lenny Li, Photographer, lennyliphoto.com

Sabrina Wong, Photography Assistant and Post-Production Digital Artist, sabrinawongphoto.com

Courtney Laschkewitsch, ASL Consultant and Graphic Designer

ASL Alphabet and ASL Numbers charts courtesy of shutterstock.com