Meet some Tegn og Trall babies!
How are Tegn og Trall babies different from non signing babies? Well, have a look!
A Tegn og Trall baby is a happier baby
Let’s meet some real Tegn og Trall babies, hear some of their stories and see some in action!
Leo loves listening to the birds singing
My first child and I were at a friend’s house, and after about 2 hours, suddenly my daughter took my hat and gave it to me, and made the going home sign. It was very clear she wanted to go home.
And my friends were so impressed that she could communicate with me that way. I think she was about 10 months and I will never forget that moment. – Tita
While playing our youngest started doing the “baby” sign, we were not sure what he was referring to and were surprised as this was not a sign we often did. We asked him where the baby was? He then pointed to a hidden space and crawled over to find his brothers doll which had not been played with in forever. He was so focused on what he wanted and was able to communicate it to us so well, we were so proud. – Monica
Det første tegnet sønnen vår lærte etter «melk» var «mer», og det er ganske beskrivende for hans personlighet. Han vil ha mer mat, mer sang, mer lek, mer gøy, mer av alt! Og det får han, fordi han kan fortelle oss at det er det han vil ha. – Sunniva
Alma is going for a swim, yay!
Det er særlig tegnet “åpne” som har vært en nøkkel for å utrykke behov for vårt barn.
Han vil gjerne ha hjelp til å åpne ting, og vi ville nok strevd med å forstå dette hvis ikke han hadde brukt dette tegnet. – Sunniva
Julaften da minste var 1,5år tenkte vi at hun bare kunne være oppe så lenge hun ville. Da klokken var en halvtime over tiden hun normalt pleide å legge seg var hun helt ferdig, tasset bort til pappaen og ga tegn for smokk og sove. Hun kunne egentlig ordene for det da, men var så sliten og ferdig i hodet at det nok var enklere å bare vise med tegn hva hun ville. – Signe
Nils is telling his mummy that they are going home
Here’s one of my stories that I remember clearly: Robin, 14 months old, woke at night crying. I asked “Do you want something to drink?” He answered by doing the teddybear sign. I looked in his bed and found his teddie hidden under his duvet. I gave it to him, proud of myself that I had understood, and proud of him that he had managed to tell me.. But.. he carried on crying. “What is
it Robin?” – I asked. He then showed me the “bicycle” sign followed by the teddy sign. The bicycle sign was a sign we used for his big brother Ollie (Ollie was good at riding a bicycle). Aha, Robin wanted Ollie’s teddy! I then remembered that Robin had been playing with his teddy before he went to bed. So I crept over to a sleeping Ollie, borrowed his teddie and gave it to Robin. I remember clearly what happened next. Robin took the teddy, gave it a hug and then looked up and gave me the biggest grin ever. He then laid himself down and went back to sleep!
This all lasted a few minutes! Imagine if he couldn´t tell me this! I could have used forever guessing what was wrong, then rocking him and singing trying to calm him. He would´ve woken Ollie and daddy, and I may even had started breastfeeding again! Oh no..
= Signs are truly ingenious!
Books
Tegn og Trall babies love books because then they can read for you! Think of the sense of achievement they must feel, as well as they get to look and talk about what they find interesting on the pages. My bedtime routine with my kids, after teeth were brushed and nappy was changed, would be looking at books together. This was the time we all really enjoyed! I’d ask as we entered the bedroom, “What book shall we read?” My children would then tell me with signs which book they fancied (The animal book, The Gruffalo, Goldilocks and the 3 bears..), then they’d sit on my lap and read for me, with their hands. They often noticed small details that I hadn’t even seen, like, when reading “Tidler”, Robin noticed the tail of a fish sticking out of a ship wreck. The fish of course was hiding because it was scared of the shark! – he told me with his hands. Or in “Spot The Dog” Alice noticed that the grass by a lake looked like ice cream! (those vanilla ones covered in chocolate – “Pin-up” I think they’re called). I agreed, but then explained that it was actually a kind og grass, but it would be pretty cool with ice cream growing out in the countryside!
Have a look at some other Tegn og Trall babies proudly reading for their loved ones:
Gaia is proudly reading for her mummy and daddy
Leo is having fun reading for his mummy.
But where are the chicks? he wonders.
Jeg husker godt den dagen ungen vår virkelig begynte å bruke tegn. Vi satt og leste på toget på vei til Mormor og Morfar en tidlig morgen. Plutselig tok han de bittesmå fingerne sammen som en liten klype. Jeg tittet ned i boken, og forstod at han gjorde “fugle-tegnet”. Jeg fortsatte å spørre hva ting het, og tegnene kom på løpende bånd. Det var utrolig gøy! Både jeg og sønnen vår hadde en veldig fin togtur. Han var synlig stolt, og gjorde alle tegn på oppfordring. – Jorid
Here again, are my treasures. Robin, reading the happy ending of “Monkey puzzle” and Alice, enthusiastically looking at the birds, squirrel and poo! Alice here is now talking a lot, but the words were still unclear so it was very useful to still have the signs. The signs naturally fell away as her speech improved.
And then the truly fascinating: – some Tegn og Trall babies even sign in their sleep!:
When my son was not even a year old we visited a farm where they were growing broccoli and during his nap he signed broccoli in his sleep. So signing can even give us insight to our babies dreams! – Shi
We know now that our son sometimes dreams about boats and cats (he signs in his sleep)! – Kate
