Hello and welcome to TinyTalk Warrington, Newton and Lymm. I’m Thérèse your local TinyTalk teacher and BSL signer (Level 1). I’m also mum to TinyTalkers Hannah (6) and Max (2)!

I first read about baby signing when Hannah was 6 months old. I thought it sounded wonderful, too good to be true, that my daughter would be able to tell me what she wanted before she could speak.

At 15 months Hannah had a signing vocabulary of over 50 signs with favourites being milk, more, bird, rain, bath and daddy. Baby signing helped us avoid the frustration babies feel when they try to communicate and we adults are unable to understand them. She could tell me when she was thirsty or hungry or when she was tired. She could even say ’please’ when she wanted something!

When Hannah was 12 months old I read about TinyTalk in the national press and contacted them to find my local class. There wasn’t one, so I trained to become a TinyTalk teacher. Over five years later I’m enjoying it more than ever!

I started signing to Max when he was just 6 days old, 'milk’ and 'bed' were the first signs. He initially watched with great interest and finger wiggling! It was very exciting when he made his first sign 'bed' at 8 months old. He now has lots of signs under his belt, 'daddy', 'car' and 'stop' being the most used at the moment!

TinyTalk classes are an hour long, starting with signing and singing to well known nursery rhymes and actions songs. Followed by the social time - playtime for the babies (toys provided) and chat time for the mums (refreshments provided). The classes are held in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The mums love the hot drink that's made for them, as well as the chocolate biscuits that are available! Social time is a great way to meet other mums and ask any questions you have on baby signing.

Contact me to find out how you can join in the TinyTalk fun!