Jump-start language and learning skills with this simple and elegant guide to using sign language to communicate with your preverbal baby. Imagine averting a tantrum because your baby was able to communicate her desire for a favorite toy without tears, or simply sharing in your baby's wonderment at the sight of a bird on a tree-before he has even uttered his first word! Generally, children do not develop the motor skills necessary to speak until they are two, and yet they are able to communicate using sign language as early as six months. Written by an experienced signer and a mother of three, this illustrated step-by-step guide will allow readers to join the ranks of parents around the world who experience the rich rewards of communicating with their preverbal babies by using sign language. Studies have shown that babies who are taught to use signs to express themselves before they can actually speak are more contented because they can communicate their basic needs (and ideas!) and also are more skilled at speaking once they begin to acquire language. Full of practical tips, real anecdotes, and straightforward diagrams of more than sixty basic American Sign Language signs, Baby Talk is the essential baby-signing handbook for parents, relatives, and caregivers-and their babies, who are just a little too young to express themselves verbally.