Here's your sign

Hey, hey stop your whining. 

What is it? What do you want?

Out of the two boys there's one who is very motor driven and very tactual. He explores with his body, feeling, tasting and intently staring at things that move. He loves to take in his environment and internalize it.

The other twin loves being read to. He'll plant his little bottom in your lap and listen as you read book after book. 

He likes to imitate the animal sounds and is always asking, "What's that?'

With this little social bug, he wants to communicate and the only way he knows to get your attention is by whining.

'What's that?'

With my preschool training we continually tell the kids, 'There is no whining in preschool, use your words."

If they don't have words, we teach them basic signs for what they want.

Naturally I wanted to do the same with our little twin so I started with the sign for 'please'.

The motivator, my phone.

He loves playing with my phone - or should I say, talking to Suri.

"I'm sorry I didn't get that." Suri would reply.

Blahhh, blahhh, yahhhh, nananana, he would repeat.

When I would take the phone away he'd start to complain, so I began showing him the sign for please by rubbing his hand on his chest.

Please?

It wasn't' long before he was applying the sign 'please' not just for the phone, but anything he wanted.

Seeing how fast he caught on, we began teaching him other signs.
Sometimes when he's really trying to communicate he'll run through all the signs he knows, hoping one will get what he wants.

Grandma can I have your phone?

Please?

I'm a firm believer communication is the key to limiting the 'terrible two blue's'
They know what they want, it's when they can't express it is when
 the tantrum sets in.
By teaching babies to sign your helping their communication skills to grow. Once they start talking, the signing begins to fade.