The short answer is:  whenever you want.  The truth is, it is never too early, and it is never too late.  (Okay, well, if you are signing to your son while you are chaperoning his prom, that might be a little weird, but in general, it’s never too late!)

Many moms want to get a head start, and while a newborn won’t necessarily know what you are doing, it still doesn’t hurt.  It might even help your baby’s brain develop, and it sure gives mom the practice.

So here’s the long answer:  Most experts recommend starting to teach your baby to sign when she is six months old.  But as you know, each baby is his own creature, and each baby responds differently.  Some babies start signing at four months old, and some (like my son) show no interest at all until their first birthday, when they want more cake.

But six months is a good rule of thumb.  If you want to start earlier than that, then bravo!  Just don’t have unrealistic expectations about the results you will see!

Here are some signs that may (or may not) be helpful in determining if your baby is ready to start signing:

• Does your baby look at your face when you talk to him?
• Does your baby seem curious about the world around her?
• Does your baby point to things he wants?
• Does your baby already make her own gestures, such as waving goodbye?
• Does your baby imitate things that you do?
• Can your baby pick up small objects with his thumb and finger?

There has long been debate over whether nature or nurture is responsible for the differences between baby boys and baby girls – but MRI scanning techniques have revealed over a hundred minute differences between the male and female brain and these come into play the minute your baby is born, becoming even more apparent as he grows. He has higher levels of testosterone in his body and this impacts on how he processes, stores and retrieves information. He’ll respond very differently to the world around him than a baby girl will, and when it comes to raising him it can help to keep this in mind.

So what can you expect from your baby boy?

Nappy changes are easier with a baby boy: As a rule it’ll be easier to clean your baby boy when you change his nappy, simply because poo tends to make its way into a baby girl’s vagina. No such problem with a baby boy. And don’t be surprised if your baby boy gets erections – it’s perfectly normal and you may see it at every nappy change. It can often signal that he is about to pee, so have a towel ready at nappy changes to avoid a soaking!

Boys sometimes walk sooner: Baby boys are more active than baby girls from day one, and will tend to kick and wriggle more. Boys also tend to have better gross motor skills than girls, so for that reason they may get on the move sooner and walk earlier than girls, and will tend to be much happier when they’re running or kicking a ball about. It means that you’ll probably have to encourage him more when it comes to getting him to sit down and do a task that involves concentrating and using fine motor skills, such as colouring. But it’s really in the late toddler and early preschool years that your boy will forge ahead when it comes to physical abilities and strength.

Boys prefer cars to dolls: Baby boys prefer to watch mechanical motion rather than human motion.  Your baby boy will be more spatially aware than a baby girl and better able to track motion – and it could be one reason for the fact that your efforts to be politically correct and get him to play with dolls will likely fall by the wayside as he clamours for his train set and toy cars!

Boys talk later than girls: Studies suggest that male brains have fewer nerve cells in the area of the brain that processes language and this may be why they often don’t vocalize as early or as clearly as girls the same age, and use less complex sentences once they do start talking. Speech delays are diagnosed in boys much more frequently than girls, so while you should expect him to be slightly behind girls the same age, get him assessed for a speech delay if he isn’t keeping up with other boys his age.

Boys are more emotional than you think: Your little boy may be a bigger softy at heart than a baby girl as he grows. Boys aren’t so good at socializing and communicating as girls and this often makes them less independent and more shy when it comes to mixing with others. You may find that your baby boy is more upset at being separated from you than a baby girl would be and that he’s actually more into cuddles with mummy!

However, as your baby boy grows he won’t be as adept as a girl at expressing his strong emotions – one reason why girls are more likely to talk things through and listen to reason when boys might be more likely to hit out. Help your boy by giving him the vocabulary he needs to label his emotions and express them verbally. If you see him looking cranky, tell him that’s how he feels – once he knows the right words to use, he’ll be more likely to use them.

There’s no doubt that boys and girls are different and that working with those differences can help you be a happy parent raising a happy baby boy. But do bear in mind that your baby boy is an individual and be prepared for some exceptions to the rules.

Baby boys are more at risk of poor health: Keep a close eye on your baby boy’s health in his first weeks and months as baby boys are more vulnerable to respiratory infections. They are more likely to suffer from bronchiolitis (a common illness in infancy) as well as wheezing and asthma. Baby boys who are born prematurely also fare less well than baby girls. Physically, boys have less mature skeletal systems, and this means that they’re more susceptible to injuring themselves than girls – the fact they are more physically active as they grow raises this risk.

There has long been debate over whether nature or nurture is responsible for the differences between baby boys and baby girls – but MRI scanning techniques have revealed over a hundred minute differences between the male and female brain and these come into play the minute your baby is born, becoming even more apparent as she grows.

The estrogen in her system affects her brain development, and she also has higher levels of the hormones serotonin and oxytocin. Serotonin affects mood, meaning that your baby girl may be less cranky and more easily soothed than a baby boy. Oxytocin is a hormone produced during sex and while lactating, and could be the key to a baby girl being more receptive to emotions than a baby boy.

What else can you expect from your baby girl?

Nappy changes will be more fiddly : With a baby girl you have to be extra careful to wipe from front to back as this can help to prevent poo from entering her vagina, which can result in a yeast infection (these are common in baby girls), and her urethra, which can jumpstart a urinary tract infection. In her first few days you will notice that your baby girls vulva is swollen and she may pass discharge – this is perfectly normal and results from oestrogen that entered her system from your body via blood passing through the placenta and umbilical cord. She also may have discharge from her nipples for the same reason.

Baby girls are often smaller: Baby girls tend to be born smaller than baby boys, although if you and your baby’s father are especially tall she may be larger than a baby boy whose parents are small. They tend to be healthier too: their skeletons are stronger, making them less vulnerable to injury, and they also seem less susceptible to developing complications from respiratory infections such as bronchiolitis. Premature baby girls typically thrive better than premature baby boys.

Baby girls love to be active! Don’t be taken in by the fact your baby girl may seem less physically strong and active than a baby boy – she still needs to run and climb and kick and throw a ball. You shouldn’t treat her as any more fragile than a boy and a good workout will help her gross motor skills catch up with those of boys her age.

She’s keen to communicate with you: Baby girls are entranced by faces, and your baby will love nothing more than to be held up close to your face and will maintain eye contact with you for longer than a baby boy. It may be one reason why girls are better at reading emotions as they grow. Her fascination with watching your features express emotion makes her a great mimic – from just a few hours old she may copy you if you slowly poke out your tongue at her.

Baby girls are good with their hands: Baby girls are better at fine motor movements performed with the fingers so your baby girl will probably be able to hold and control a piece of chalk or a crayon with more dexterity than a boy her age. They are better at playing with toys that require a degree of manipulation, such as twisting movements, and more proficient at using a spoon when it comes to self-feeding, and holding a pencil for writing later on.

Baby girls talk sooner: The fact she’s watching you that bit more closely and better able to register your voice means your baby girl is likely to understand what you are saying to her earlier than a baby boy would, and she’s more likely to try to communicate back with hand gestures such as waving and pointing, sooner too. She’ll talk sooner too: at around 12 months as opposed to around 14 months for a baby boy. By 16 months or so, your baby girl will know and be able to say up to 100 words, while a boy the same age will typically average around 30. She’ll string words together to form sentences earlier, and once she reaches preschool age she will use longer and more complex sentences than a boy.

Baby girls are better listeners: Baby girls are better able to hear noises in a higher register. The fact your baby girl is more attuned to your voice should mean that she is more inclined to listen to you (though we can’t guarantee it once toddler tantrums rear their ugly head!)
The fact her hearing is more acute means you can expect your baby girl to be more easily startled and upset by loud noises than a baby boy would be, and when it comes to toys that make noises she will prefer gentle sounds like music rather than the wailing sirens a baby boy would favour.

Baby girls are more sociable: Baby girls have better social skills than baby boys, mainly because they are better at communicating, and at empathizing with others. This means your baby girl might well be more independent than a baby boy would be, less apt to get upset if she isn’t in your presence and more inclined to play with other children a further distance from you than a boy the same age would be.

There’s no doubt that boys and girls are different and that working with those differences can help you be a happy parent raising a happy baby girl. But do bear in mind that your baby girl is an individual and be prepared for some exceptions to the rules.

Banana is also a source of trace elements: 100 grams contains 42 mg of magnesium and 348 mg of potassium, the content of the last is comparable only with dried apricots. In addition, tropical fruits are a source of calcium, iron and phosphorus.

Once there were only green bananas, and they slowly turn yellow in

our house. Today bananas reach the desired condition in special places filled with ethylene gas at high humidity and temperature around 13 oC. Here they stay from 4 to 8 days – depending on the established regime, according to the fruit and market needs. Fast mode allows bananas ripen for 4 days, but they are delicious when they are kept for eight days.

Ethylene is not accidentally chosen for ripening of bananas – during the maturation in natural conditions bananas themselves emit this gas.

Buying bananas, we first assess their appearance: color, presence or absence of black spots, the size of the fruit andtheir degree of maturity. It is known that a good banana is yellow, juicy, with shiny and sleek surface and do not have too ribbed form. The black dots on the surface are a sign that the fruit contains maximum sugar. But if the entire surface of the banana is black it’s a bust, indicating that the firm-supplier could not keep their products properly. However, such fruit is harmless and completely edible.

Meanwhile, according to an existing document, bananas are divided into three classes. Best – “extra” should be a minimum length of 20 cm, volume of 3-4 cm. Sometimes they can have the same thickness but be a couple of centimeters shorter. Requirements for the second class: length -14 cm, volume – 2, 7-4, 1 cm, however, usually fruit of all varieties: thick and thin, long and short – are sold at one price.

The basis of the export products is bananas which are used in culinary. Best-known varieties are Cavendish, Gro Michel, Lakatan. Export class bananas must endure all the difficulties of transportation.

Bananas which are used in culinary, are dessert and vegetables bananas. Today small dessert bananas can be found in our own sales network. Their value is considerably less than the traditional: 8-12 cm, thin skin, with the taste of honey, sweet and delicious. For the price they are twice expensive.
All the remaining bananas for us are exotics. There are a variety of bananas with a taste of an apple. There are red bananas, with red-brown, red and burgundy skin and pink core. Vegetable bananas can be boiled, fried, dried, put in the soup instead of potatoes. They are used in chips and even beer production. These fruit contains a lot of starch and is not sweet.

The shell is used in all cases when a lack of calcium in the body is noticed, as well as for prophylactic treatment:
- In pregnancy;
- Children from 1 year to 6 years;
- Preferably in adolescence and early adulthood (up to 19-20 years);
- Prophylactically twice a year egg shell powder treatment is useful for adults to prevent diseases of the spine, tooth decay, osteoporosis;
- As a means of deducing radionuclides in ground contaminated with strontium-90 (using 2 to 6 grams a day);
- Receiving the powder from the shell is especially useful in the beginning of the year, when the calcium metabolism slows down.

The early weeks

Although you won’t feel it, your baby is already quite active by 12 weeks. Her body moves and jerks, she hiccups and exercises her tiny arms and legs. By 16 weeks, her movements are stronger and more complicated. She can punch, kick, squirm, do somersaults and even suck her tiny, fully formed fingers.

Those first kicks

At around 16 weeks, experienced mums-to-be realize that the fluttery sensation in their tummy isn’t wind, but their baby. Women describe this feeling as being like air bubbles, butterfly wings or pinging elastic bands. As first-time mums don’t know what to expect, most won’t recognize these sensations until 20 weeks or later.

Your baby’s private gym

From around 22 weeks, your baby’s movements will become stronger and more frequent. He’s now on her very own exercise regime; bending, stretching and wriggling to strengthen his muscles and bones and develop his motor ability. You may feel a short jab as he kicks the wall of your womb (uterus) or a squirm as he shifts into a more comfy position. There may be a regular pattern to this as babies tend to settle in certain positions. Before 34 weeks, a large proportion of babies will be in the breech position, so you may get some forceful kicks to your bladder or the top of your cervix.

Getting familiar

As your pregnancy progresses, you’ll begin to recognize certain moves: you may feel a series of small jerks as your baby has an attack of hiccups. A sudden noise may make her jump, or she may become active and excitable if you’re angry or frightened, as the hormone adrenaline passes to her via the placenta. Many expectant mums complain their babies are most active when they sit down or when they go to bed – this may be because when you are still and quiet, you are able to identify the kicks more easily.

Preparing for b-day

At around 34 weeks, your baby’s movements will start to get less pronounced because he’s got less space to move around. By this stage, most babies are spending a lot of time in the head-down position, so you may get the odd painful kick in the ribs. Take comfort in the fact that this means he’s getting ready for birth. You’ll soon be meeting a baby whose movements and habits you already know so well.

If the kicks stop

If your baby’s pattern of kicking changes or you don’t feel any movements for a while, it isn’t necessarily a cause for worry. Sometimes, when a baby changes position, his movements may be harder to be recognized or perhaps he’s sleeping while you’re awake.

However, you know your baby better, so if you’re at all concerned about his movements, or lack of them, see your midwife or GP straightaway. The doctor or midwife will listen to his heartbeat to make sure that all is going well. Your midwife can also give you a kick chart, which helps you count your baby’s first 10 movements each day. As long as these 10 kicks happen by roughly the same time each day, you should have nothing to worry about.
By 32 week, your baby will be moving about 375 times a day!

At the end, I want to remind future mothers: the first movement of the small baby is not only an indicator of its condition, but also the unique experience that a woman may have only in this short, but happy period of his life.

Contact your doctor immediately if:

fetal motor activity is ceased for 12 hours or more;
excessive movements in the intensity increase for several hours and does not stop when you change posture.

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD
In the development of children’s musical abilities the first years of life are particularly important. The earlier you’ll start working on the development of musical abilities of the child, the better the results will be. In each period of the development of babies, they are especially sensitive to external influences, including – music. These so-called sensitive periods are from 1,5 to 3 years. The most important thing is to awaken the senses, because the child perceives and knows the world around him/her with the help of senses. It is important to remember that the overall mental development of children is related to this period, primarily with the development of senses.
Among the various means of influencing the feelings of the child, one of the most effective is the musical art. Even at the time when the baby is in its mother’s belly it begins to perceive music. From the first days of musical art the child tries to imitate the sounds of her mother’s speech echoes the height of her voice. A game with rattles – is not the rhythmic development of the child, the experience of the first children’s perception of noise instruments!

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD: THE IDENTIFICATION OF TALENT
So it is clear that early musical development serves primarily to the task of the overall development of the child during this period – the development of the senses. Replying to a question, how an early musical development should be, let us first of all clarify what we mean by the very notion of “musical development”. Musical development – is an ongoing process of certain qualitative changes in musical abilities of a man. The most important criterion of musicality is an emotional response to music.

Of course, the impetus for the development of skills, including music, is the identification and development of thedeposits. Music lessons should be filled with active forms of propulsion, full of emotion and create a nice atmosphere. Such exercises should support the development of fantasy and imagination, emotional and sensual spheres of the baby. It turns out that the general and musical ability develop in a holistic relationship.
Early musical development is primarily associated with the formation of sensory abilities, i.e. ability to distinguish pitch (high – low), timbre ( “voice” of children’s musical instruments), dynamics (loud – quiet), tempo (fast – slow), as well as the beginning of the formation of musical thinking and musical memory.
In addition, the child just begins to learn listening to music. Therefore, developing the musical thinking, we form the ability to hear the character, the mood of music. Note that systematic training just involves the systematic development of the child.
All of these components must be present in class. Above all, we start with the emotional and sensory impressions of what he heard, then – go to the approbation of various types of activities: echoic exercises of accompanying, music-making, active games. And only then on the basis of accumulated experience and sensory, motor experience, we, along with the baby, can improvise. I would like to clarify that the planning and conducting of such exercises must be systematic and consistent. Parent or teacher should clearly represent the final result, which directed lessons on musical development.

EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD: specifics of the lessons
Each lesson of the early musical development of the child should include all the mentioned types of musical activities that are realized in active music-didactic games. In the classroom should be a reasonable combination of vocal, musical-rhythmic, musical and visual exercises. We should not forget that the transition from one to another component of the musical work should be implemented step by step, gradually complicating the task. Of course, that active consideration at this age is given to the development of small and large skills. Therefore, a necessary component of each exercise should be finger games and music and rhythmic exercises, conducted under the music.
Now let’s clarify some features of music lessons for children. Vocal development in early childhood is closely connected with the phonemic, so at the start of singing exercises, begin with the elements of onomatopoeia (e.g., syllables, representing “singing” animals – “wow”, “meow”). Then we turn to imitate voices of the teacher or parent and singing certain syllables, words in the song.
In the development of a sense of rhythm we recommend starting with a game of rhythmic exercises, where, while repeating the words of the poem, the children perform certain movements. Then perform the same movements, but together with the music. This should ensure clarity and consistency of movements, the coincidence with the pulse of musical creation.
Developing musical sensory abilities of the child, we stress its perception in bright contrast between sound (loud – quiet, high – low, fast – slow), not forgetting the sound relationship with the visual images and pictures.
Projected results of early musical development of the child may be as follows: the 3-year-old baby:
- Emotionally reacts and recognizes familiar melodies;
- Is able to distinguish between contrasting features of sound (high – low, loud – quiet, fast – slow);
- Together with the teacher echoes musical phrases from the song;
- Moves in accordance with the nature of music;
- Performs sound motion: tapping feet, clapping her hands;
- Distinguishes between calls and music instruments: rattles, tambourine, bell, etc.
We wish you a vivid, emotional discovery in a magical world of sounds with your child!

Why do babies need lullabies?
Lullabies are needed for children of all ages. Their first task is to reassure the child and set him/her on a strong healthy sleep.
Melodic, simple, quiet – lullabies like both small babies, and their parents. In many families, lullabies are traditional conclusion of the day, the ritual, and they cannot do without it.
This is the child’s first contact with the art, and it is very important. A child hears it, learns to perceive both normal conversation and song. He/she gets accustomed to his/her mother, remembers the melody and learns it. Later he/she begins to distinguish the words and repeats them. Small children like to sing lullabies to their dolls, and even parents.
Lullabies help to establish a strong link between a child and his parents. At the time of going to bed a close contact between mother and child is required. The kid must feel that he/she is not alone helping him/her to relax from daily cares. These simple songs help to show sincere feelings.
From their infancy, people remember the voice of their mother. Lullabies are songs which are written using the notes of pure love and collect them in tenderness harmony. Something magical is store in a lullaby melody. It comforts, soothes, makes forget about the pain and helps to sleep.
When a child is very small, that is, it is still in its infancy, he/she gets accustomed to a certain voice that will serve him/her for a sign or a symbol of security and peace.
Then, when your child will grow up a little, he/she still loves and responds to the native voice.
Lullabies are an excellent alternative to other means of calming the child. Instead shaking and long conversations, this gives a much better result.

Why lullabies are better?
Of course, now there are many inventions to replace live lullaby. There are singing toys, CDs and just the TV. Some parents have resorted to such assistants, believing that these songs are no worse than traditional lullabies.
Other parents cite the fact that absolutely can not sing and do not want their child to be accustomed to the fake songs.
But it is important who does it.
No toy or tape recorder can replace the love of a child with which his/her mother hugs him/her

before going to bed, singing even the simplest motifs.
It doesn’t matter what lullaby you sing (you can even create your own version). Your presence and

care is much more important.
The toy or a TV can be brighter and more interesting than your songs, but the child always prefers to sleep in your presence than to listen to a monotonous grumbling of the unfeeling box.

Are lullabies only for mothers?

Traditionally, lullabies are sung by women – mothers and grandmothers. But now fathers also try to sing. The childshould feel the love of both parents, so it is not surprising that, over time your child may require to sing for him/her father or even grandfather.
Men prefer the traditional lullaby songs from cartoons, or even compose their own songs, and it is not worse than those songs that Mothers sing.
If you are unsure whether it was lullaby to your child, just try to sing it at least a week. Kids like this way of lying in the cot if only you’re close to them, regardless of the quality of performance. Despite the achievement of the industry of toys, mankind did not invent a better way to put the child to sleep.

With more experience you will find out that your child can hold with one hand, while supporting the lower part of the torso. Thus, the second hand will be free.