Now that I am a mom of two under two... I have discovered something... my two year old's version of 'an inside' voice or 'baby is sleeping' voice is NOT the same as my adult version.
I was thinking, why not use sign as a special discussion between my toddler and myself while baby is sleeping. This way he feels included and all grown up, cause he doesn't nap when baby is napping, he gets to hang out with mommy even if it is practicing his inside voice with signing.
Teach important words for this special time, like:
blanket
quiet
love
book
baby
light
sleep
tired
mommy
You can play with dolls and have your two year old put 'his baby' to sleep and tell mommy to be quiet with sign language. Remind him when you enter the baby's room, to only use sign and tug on each other for attention. He'll love the game.
You can lay baby down and ask for "BLANKET" in sign. Let your two year old put the blanket in the crib.
Ask him to sign "NIGHT NIGHT BABY" and "LOVE" and "SLEEP"
You can sign "LIGHT OFF" and then pick your two year old up to shut off the light. Sign "THANK YOU"
Be sure to tell your toddler how proud you are that he is such a 'BIG BROTHER.' Remind him baby's don't know how to use inside voice or sign language, you need to teach your little brother this. You're very important to his family.
It is a great opportunity to help your toddler feeling included and important, especially with new babies in the house.
Use these dictionaries to find new words that work for your family.
http://www.signingsavvy.com/
http://www.babysignlanguage.com/dictionary/
No comments:
Post a Comment