Omigosh. My baby is crying and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Why can’t you talk to me? Well, maybe its because babies don’t talk. Wrong. Babies talk all the time. They just don’t use the English language.

When your baby is screaming at the top of her lungs, her face blue from lack of oxygen intake, and her eyes are bulging out like one of the muppets, you think, just maybe, it’s because she’s trying to tell you something? Good guess. Her tears are from utter frustration because even though she’s making more noise than a rock concert, she thinks you can’t hear her! If you were listening you’d help her!

Ah. What we have here is a basic failure to communicate. Two entirely different languages are being spoken here, and you don’t happen to have a U.N. interpreter. You speak English and your baby speaks Bbbfflltt!

What if you both spoke the same language? Here’s a novel idea: Why don’t you teach your baby sign language?

Oh, sure, says you: Teach my baby to speak sign language. Well, I’ll just schedule it right after her classical Greek lessons, but before her quantum physics course. Thank you for the suggestion and have a great day.

Hold on there, mom of the year. Wendy Jensen says — Yes! Yes you can teach your baby sign language! She knows because she’s done it (well, she taught her babies, not yours). And she’s taught other parents (successfully, by the way) to teach their babies, too.

Well of course you’re skeptical — but I’m telling you that she did it. In fact not just Wendy, but thousands of other moms out there. And these weren’t Harvard graduates we’re talking about. In fact, many of them didn’t even graduate Cal State Fullerton (or even attend any school in the Cal State system). Truth be known, they aren’t any brighter than any other of the mommies out there. And probably nowhere near as bright as you. (You’re reading this, aren’t you? Smart girl!)

Are the benefits of teaching your baby sign language worth the effort. You betcha.

Imagine being able to talk to your baby, who will no longer have to scream her little head off to tell you, her mother, that her toe hurts because she bit it with her new tooth when she jammed her foot in her mouth! She can just give you a sign.

And hold on there, mama, there are side benefits, too. Long lasting ones.

Sign language helps young kids (whose hearing is just fine, thank you) to develop better English skills. Why? Because they communicate better. It turns out they are more alert and interested in the world around them. Now who would have figured that out ahead of time? But it’s true.

It works out this way, perhaps, for the following reasons:

Think about this: Tommy tries to shave like his daddy. Susie wants to play dress up in high heels like mommy (we hope its not reversed). Why? Because kids are born mimics. Sign language is another form of mimicking. Kids start younger following the example of their parents, i.e., adult type behavior.

If you want to mimic Zac Efron dancing (one of the kids in “High School Musical” if you are teenage illiterate), then you have to first study Zac Efron dancing. Makes sense. When your little fuzz ball is learning to sign, she is studying the person signing (you). And guess what? Their little mush brain works goes into fourth gear and they love it! It’s exciting.

Your kid will think signing is a form of action game. They love it!

Think about it from your little angel’s viewpoint. Instead of mom telling her “Ssshhh!” (kids hate the word “Ssshhh”), or being dumped back into the crib (kids hate being dumped back into the crib), her mom is giving her a whole bunch of positive attention.

Will your little darling get a full paid scholastic scholarship to Columbia if you teach her sign language. Probably. Well, actually, maybe. Anyway, she will be heads and knees above the other kids because you provided her with a very basic skill set. And you taught her that learning can be fun. Give a baby a fish and she eats tonight. Teach your baby to fish and she eats for a lifetime. Get it? It’s simple. Teach your baby sign language and she will benefit for her whole life.