Mel and Mia
My name’s Marianne, but most know me as Mel. I’m a musician, and I’ve worked over 10 years as a clarinetist before I, in 2014, made Tegn og Trall together with my friend Heidri. We were employed for the first year, from the autumn of 2014, at The Music and Culture School in Bærum, where we also worked as clarinet teachers. But since the autumn of 2015, I’ve been running the course alone in my living room in Grünerløkka. Accompanied of course by my knitted, stripy cat, Mia Mjau. I’ve continued to further develop the course, making it something I’m really proud of! And over these years Mia has helped me spread lots of joy to all the little babies and parents who have found their way to Tegn og Trall.
I myself have experienced the magic of baby sign language. My 3 treasures, Ollie, Robin and Alice, have all talked to me with baby signs, long before they’d mastered words. It has been completely fantastic being able to have two-way conversations with them! Not only have they been less frustrated, because they’ve been able to tell me what they’ve wanted, I have also gained a unique insight into their brains! Truly fascinating! Long before they were able to talk with words, they played imaginary games with their toys, they remembered things we had experienced together, they observed things I hadn’t noticed… And they had humour. They were able to express all this with their hands!
Teaching my kids baby signs was the best parenting decision I made! My wish is that as many parents and babies as possible will discover the joys of baby sign language as I did. It’s a magical experience that you can’t begin to imagine until you experience it yourself.
Ollie – My inspiration
In 2010 Ollie got a dvd from his aunty Ellen who lives in London, for his 1st birthday. The dvd had songs with baby sign language. I started singing these songs and using the signs with my Ollie, and it wasn’t long until he himself started signing! I still remember the first time he signed. We were out for a walk. He was sitting in his pram staring behind my back. Then suddenly he moved his fingers in a way that looked like the bird sign (a song on the dvd)… I followed his gaze… and right behind me stood a big magpie. I remember this moment as a Halleluja experience and I got shivers down my spine.
“My son talked to me!” Halleluja!
I was sold from then on. I added more and more signs to my repertoire and discovered, once Oliver managed to copy these signs, that baby signs were truly ingenious!
Oliver was less frustrated than the other babies in my “barsel group” because he could tell me what he needed and what he was interested in. He told me if he was hungry, if he was cold or if he needed his teddy, dummy or was tired and wanted to sleep.
We had a close and special bond. There was always something to “talk” about, and we understood each other, at least most of the time.
Robin – The first Tegn og Trall baby
When I was pregnant with Robin, 3 years later, I tried to find a similar class to the one on the dvd, in Oslo. I was sad to not find any. My sister then said “ You’ll have to make your own one then!”. And me, being an obedient little sister, did just that.
And so, after my dear Robin was born, my maternal leave consisted in being a full-time milking machine as well as writing song texts and planning how the course was to be. He became my guinea pig and I practised all the signs (and songs) on little Robin. This time around, Norwegian signs, as I wanted to stick to Norwegian signs in the course.
I was much more conscious in my communication with Robin and used even more signs then I did with Ollie. Now Robin didn’t only tell me that he wanted his dummy, but which dummy: the one with a picture of a monkey on or the one with a pig on. Which teddy he wanted to have. Which song he wanted me to sing to help him fall asleep. Which food he wanted. Blueberries and not a banana, toast and not a slice of bread. And then he fancied a raisin bun each time we walked past a bakery. And so I realised that signs didn’t always help against frustration. Even though he could tell me that he wanted a bun, an ice-cream or chocolate, he usually didn’t get what he wanted. So there was a good deal sign nagging!
Alice – The signing chatter box
Alice, knowing over 200 signs, was a little chatter box with her hands (now she’s a little chatter box with her words). She often played role-playing games with toys and objects. One time that I remember specifically was when she was 16 months old. We had been to the Opera, where her daddy works, and we were about to leave for home. I was pushing the pram and Alice and the boys were walking. Alice, who was carrying her water bottle, put it down on the floor. I picked it up and put it in my bag as we needed to go home. She then got angry so I stopped walking. She went over to my bag, lifted out her water bottle, lay it back down on the floor, looked at me and showed me the “sleeping” sign. Aha, so she was playing that her bottle was sleeping. I could then join in her game and say “Shall we wake up your water bottle, as we’re off home? Let’s sing a song for your bottle”. We sang a quick song and then I was allowed to pick her bottle up again, put it back in the bag, and off we could go. No fussing.
It truly is magical to get an insight into the brains and hearts of these little ones! It can also save you from lots of situations that could have ended in screaming. Being able to understand what your child is thinking and wanting can really make things go more smoothly!
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