A CRYING baby can drive a parent to distraction and often there is no way of knowing what is wrong without going through a checklist of basic needs.

Now a group of mums in Stroud is introducing an American idea which might shortcut the way babies communicate. Sam Bond investigates...

BABIES in Stroud could be fluent in a simple sign language before they learn to speak their first words.

A group of mums has picked up on an American craze which teaches babies how to communicate simple ideas by signing.

The junior sign language was developed by childhood development researcher Joseph Garcia.

"When he was working with children with deaf parents he discovered they were starting to do some of the signs before they learned how to speak," said Stroud mum Jane Cutting.

"He did some more research and decided it could be useful to families with hearing parents."

Jane was introduced to the signing system by her health worker and attended a short course on the subject at Frampton-on-Severn's School of Emotional Literacy.

Now she and two other mums hope to share what they have learned with others in the Five Valleys.

Babies can begin learning the language at six and months old when they are introduced to a handful of basic symbols like 'eat', 'drink', 'milk', 'more' and 'no'.

The symbols are fairly intuitive.

The sign for 'eat', for example, involves putting a hand to the mouth while the sign for 'drink' is universally recognised in noisy pubs throughout the land.

"Depending on your child's interests they pick up other signs as time progresses," said Jane.

"For example, my daughter Charlotte's really into books so she knows the sign for books, we've got a dog and their are cows in the field across the road so she has learned the signs for 'dog' and 'cow' too."

Jane said the sign language is more than just a quirky idea and strengthens the bond between parent and child, as well as helping the baby to avoid the frustration of not being able to communicate with the adult world.

"The only way a child can communicate with you before they speak or point is to cry," she said.

"You have to go through a check list - are they dirty or hungry, do they want to play or sleep, that kind of thing.

"Those times of seemingly endless crying, and feeling totally helpless in fulfilling the need can be eased through signing.

"As soon as they realise they can communicate their frustration levels are going to drop."

Jane said there was no danger of the signing hindering a child's ability to talk.

"It's not a replacement for speech so whenever you do a sign you say the word as well," said Jane.

Charlotte seemed reluctant to perform for an audience when the SNJ visited the family's Salmon Springs home and did not make any of the signs herself though she did seem to recognise some of them.

Jane and the other signing mums are holding short taster sessions in Stroud next month for parents wanting to find out more.

They will be held on July 3, July 10 and July 17.

For details contact Jane on 01453 758761.

For more information on baby signing see the website at www.sign2me.com