Actor Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka are the proud parents of 15-month-old fraternal twins named Harper and Gideon.  In a recent interview with People magazine, Harris revealed that he and his partner are resisting the urge to use baby talk with the twins and instead are talking to them like “regular people.”  He said he learned the parenting strategy from his own parents.  Harris also revealed that he and Burtka are trying to teach the twins some simple sign language so that they can communicate their needs before they learn to talk.

Read more about baby sign language in this earlier post.

Parents have recently discovered that babies can learn sign language even before they’re able to speak. Research has found that infants can learn American Sign Language (ASL) and can use it to communicate simple feeling and needs from a very young age. This can accelerate speech development, build cognitive skills and increase the bond between parent and child. There are classes available to teach parents the fundamentals of baby sign language. My Smart Hands offers online classes and has published an online dictionary for baby sign language.

See baby sign language in action in this YouTube video.