Bamba's First Comforts...

Research shows that the vast majority of our communication is non-verbal; in other words most of our communication is without speech. Stop for a moment and think how we use our hands to communicate. We do it in lots of ways like pointing, shrugging, waving, beckoning, and hugging. Often it's not what you say but the way you say it!

In the same way babies communicate with us non verbally long before they can say their first words. Think about when young children put their arms in the air, you recognise immediately that they want to be picked up. This usually happens at about five months. Later, children use pointing to get what they want. This usually happens at about eight or nine months when hand movements become more agile and controlled. Around this time babies also wave to indicate goodbye and shake their heads to indicate no. Of course the exact time can vary as each baby is different but generally babies can use their hands to communicate before they can use spoken words to communicate. Speech involves a complex co-ordination of neurological impulses and fine muscle control of the vocal cords the breathing apparatus the tongue the lips and the palate. So it's nothing short of a miracle that babies learn to talk. But before they learn to talk babies are communicating all the time.

Bamba's first comforts further develops the use of your baby's natural instincts and skills. By using bamba's first comforts you will help your baby to:

1 better understand about their world and

2 communicate their needs more effectively in it.

There is also considerable evidence to suggest that babies who learn gestures and baby signing often speak at an earlier age. It seems that using gestures in some way may trigger spoken-words. In fact research goes on to suggest that there are even greater long-term benefits for babies who were taught to gesture early.

Increased bonding between parent and baby

Increased play skills
Reduced frustration
Increased literary skills at a later stage

How often have you looked at your child and wished they could tell you what was wrong? Why are they crying? What do they need? What are they trying to say?

Imagine your baby is crying. Does he mean I’m hungry, I’m thirsty or I am tired? Bamba will teach your baby to sign "drink" when he's thirsty,"food" when he is hungry and" sleep" when he's tired (as well as other important first words!)

What is Bamba?

Bamba is the signing monkey and is part of Bamba's First Comforts the baby signing kit.

The kit contains six luxurious toys and a list of associated baby signs in a sturdy storage box.

There's also an easy-to-read signing instruction booklet showing more useful signs

The kit has been designed by speech and language therapists to help babies communicate early.

Frustrated?

Some parents will carry on being frustrated, but other parents have taken on the baby signing system and have been impressed by how easily it works. Baby Sign Factory has developed a simple and fun system that you can easily use with your child. Many parents across the UK are discovering the benefits of using baby signing:

Helps reduce tantrums and tears of frustration for you and your baby

Helps your baby communicate earlier

Why learn baby signing if my baby is going to talk anyway?
Babies don't develop speech and start saying single words until they're about 12 months old and often express their frustration through tantrums, throwing things, or not eating or sleeping. Signing reduces these frustrations and it gives them the opportunity to express themselves and communicate about things that they're interested in.

Will signing slown my baby's speech development?
No! Research shows that baby signing encourages babies to talk sooner. We all gesture anyway and baby signing builds on this natural ability.

What if my baby is already speaking? Is it too late?
No! Babies love learning signs and love playing with Bamba and his toys.

What about the "terrible two's"?
Signing can reduce the temper tantrums associated with the frustration babies experience by not being able to communicate, so yes signing can help.

Why create Bamba?
Bamba was created and developed to promote early communication skills and we've got to great eforts to ensure that Bamba makes baby signing fun and easy.