The Baby Sign Basics Story

Back in 2000, when my husband and I had our first child, my mother attended a baby sign language class in another city. Signing with babies was virtually unheard of at the time, but my husband and I were intrigued by the idea and decided to give it a try. Soon our daughter began signing back to us, which really did seem like a miracle! I couldn’t imagine that any parent wouldn’t want to do this if they only knew it was possible. Many new parents who saw us signing were curious, and I often found myself giving impromptu mini-lessons at the playground, supermarket checkout line, or anyplace I found myself next to another person with a baby.

Most parents seemed interested and eager to learn, so in early 2001 I began to offer short workshops for new and expectant parents at local hospitals. As interest (and my children) grew, I designed the curriculum for my parent-child series classes, which have since become a big favorite of San Diego families.

In 2004, when I was expecting my second child, I was approached by Hay House Publishing about writing a book on the topic. The resulting original addition of Baby Sign Language Basics became the best-selling baby sign language book of all time, has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 6 foreign languages. Since then, we have published an entire line of very high quality learning materials, including videos, flash cards and the Songs for Little Hands music CD and Activity Guide, which are available in bookstores and websites around the world. (Songs for Little Hands Album now available for purchase on streaming services)

Teaching my parent-child classes is still my favorite thing to do and now that my children are teenagers, I get my "baby-fix" with my little students. The miracle of seeing that light of understanding switch on in a baby’s eyes, and their little hands come together to form a deliberate sign, never ceases to amaze me.