LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: If you're a parent of an infant or toddler and you can't figure out what your child wants maybe you should change the way you're asking the question. Now some parents say teaching sign language to children with normal hearing is the key to a less stressful experience for both you and your child. CNN's Elaine Quijano reports.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These toddlers have yet to utter their first words, but at this class their parents hope to jump start the communication process.</s>LILLIAN HUBLER, BABY SIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER: My fingers don't move that way. This is the sign for leading.</s>QUIJANO: These moms and dads are among the thousands of parents nationwide who believe sign language is their toddler's ticket to a happier childhood even though none of their children is hearing impaired.</s>HUBLER: Babies begin signing or begin using gestures and their bodies as a way to communicate early on. So you're really only channeling that and enhancing it.</s>QUIJANO: Lilian Hubler heads up the talking hands program in northern Virginia. A series of sign language classes for infants toddlers and their parents. She says signing has made a dramatic difference in her own son's life.</s>HUBLER: With signing now, I'm so much better as a parent than before with my kids, because I'm able to say:</s>QUIJANO: And advocates say bridging that communication gap through signs and gestures makes those early years less stressful for everyone. A point that attracts parents like Bruce Baltas.</s>BRUCE BALTAS, PARENT: You know, if can makes some sort of sign motion to indication that, it'll save us time a lot of time and energy trying to figure our what makes him happy or unhappy.</s>QUIJANO: So for some parents signing offers the best solution to help make those twos less terrible and more bearable. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Fairfax, Virginia.
Baby Sign Language Helps Communication Between Parents and Their Toddlers