Shelley Ensor

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SIGNING, SENSORY OVERLOAD and SLOWING DOWN - Part 3

Not your usual Christmas signs - but ones I KNOW you need on hand this holiday season.

Every quarter I release our gorgeous seasonal baby signing topics - and the first time I released our Christmas / Winter topic packs, I received this testimonial from lovely Becca.

'Example supporting the importance of the 'home' sign as described in the mini topic 🙂

We had our Toddler group Christmas party this morning - a led session of sensory songs and lights and stuff.

My 14 month old wandered to the door and signed home just half an hour in!

I was a little sad as we hadn't got to Santa or food yet! So I took him to a quiet corner for milk, then he rejoined the party fairly happily.

He asked again when Santa came in the door.

And I finally listened and took him home early once he'd had a bit to eat.

At home he signed 'sleep' and lo and behold had a (albeit short) nap nearly 2 hours earlier than normal!

So, as Shelley says, keep an eye on your littlies getting overstimulated this time of year.'

As excitement for our small folk mounts, making the most of quiet moments together boosts confidence, makes wonderful connections in the brain and helps with new language too.

There is such richness in the simple, everyday discoveries of small folk.

When give them the gift of baby signing, we receive back the priceless gift of a window into their world.

And when we slow down, when we take time to discover the wonder around us through the eyes of our little ones, we are rewarded with the sweetest and most beautiful moments of bonding and belonging.

Honestly, it’s not to be missed.

Love
Shelley x

#parenting #overwhelm #toddlers #babies #tired #comfort #communication #babysign #babysigning #notjustforbabies #christmas #holidayseason #toddlertantrums #meltdown #earlyyears #sensoryoverload #responsiveparenting #slowdown #bsl #britishsignlanguage #bslhome #babysignshome

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SIGNING, SENSORY OVERLOAD and SLOWING DOWN...
Part 2 - Gorgeous Sophie signs Cuddle.

Signs for Christmas that meet your tot's immediate needs.

We don’t know why, exactly, Sophie was signing - but we can take a guess.

Perhaps Sophie needed reassurance?

You can see that she is in a busy cafe environment (which perhaps she doesn’t know well) and that its quite loud with lots of sounds that she will be trying to process. Sophie can’t see everything or everyone who is making a sound either and this can be quite stressful for little ones.

If you look carefully at the beginning of the video, the first thing she does is put her hands to her ears.

Perhaps she wanted attention?

Sophie probably knows that signing gets her Mummy’s immediate attention directed towards her. Perhaps Mummy had been chatting to someone else and Sophie wanted to be a part of that?

Perhaps Mummy needed a cuddle?

Our small folk are so observant and they model / copy our mannerisms and behaviour from an early age. If a little one, who is sad or nervous or scared has been met with a cuddle and reassurance, they will seek to do this themselves too. And Sophie can’t get out of her highchair to give Mummy a cuddle so she gets Mummy to come to her.

Regardless of why she signed cuddle, you can see how incredibly connecting this moment is and the understanding between Sophie and her Mummy.

Supporting children to be heard, to have a voice, to give reassurance just DOESN'T have to be hard. Look how easy it is for Sophie's mama to give her the right reassurance, when she needed it. Look at Sophie's smile, her complete trust that she can be understood.

You CAN get to the root cause of most distress and upset this Christmas - really simply, 9/10 before the stress of the situation causes tears and meltdown.

The solution is literally at your fingertips.

Love
Shelley x

#parenting #overwhelm #toddlers #babies #tired #comfort #communication #babysign #babysigning #notjustforbabies #christmas #holidayseason #toddlertantrums #meltdown #earlyyears #sensoryoverload #responsiveparenting #slowdown

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SIGNING, SENSORY OVERLOAD and SLOWING DOWN...

Part 1.

Christmas.

Hopefully a magical time, full of treats and delights for all ages.

Shining lights and glittery packages all have wonderful appeal for our little ones and all around Christmas songs are heard, over and over again, which is just perfect for practicing your signing!

This holiday season is a hugely busy time of year with parties and plays, presents and posting cards, trees and tinsel, friends and, hopefully, lots of fun!

But some little ones might find it unsettling.

Actually, I think most little ones find it unsettling.

I know that I need to mentally - and physically - prepare myself ahead of time and I already know what to expect, when.

In this busy season, we might need to slow things down.

We all thrive in the safety of routine and knowing what comes now and next (that's another post!)

So having signs like Home and Cuddle up your sleeve can help your baby or toddler to let you know that they need the familiar, comforting and safe space of your arms, or home.

These simple signs give you the easiest way to see that your tot has had enough before overwhelm sets in and preventing tears from quickly following.

Shelley's Signing Tip: Most little ones won't sign cuddle at first - they will simply lift their arms and make their 'up' noise. This is the perfect opportunity for you to double check, asking if they would like a cuddle as you sign the word.

This shows your little one that you understand what it is that they are asking, you are checking that this is what they want (respectful care / consent - it is never too early - and yes, that's an new post too!) and showing them the sign, in context, so that they can sign it for themselves when they are ready.

Any questions?

Let me know!

Love
Shelley x

#parenting #overwhelm #toddlers #babies #tired #comfort #communication #babysign #babysigning #notjustforbabies #christmas #holidayseason #toddlertantrums #meltdown #earlyyears #sensoryoverload #responsiveparenting #slowdown