THE magical moment when a child says their first word is one every proud mum and dad looks forward to.

It marks a major milestone in a toddler’s development and the beginning of the end of the frustrating communication barrier between parent and child.

But some youngsters are now having their say before they can talk – by learning sign language while they are still just babies.

Mum-of-two Gillian Allin runs baby signing classes. She says simple signs can be taught to children as young as six months – up to a year before they would usually learn to speak.

Gillian, 26, admits doubting whether babies could be taught sign language.

She says: “I was quite sceptical at first, but I went along to a class with my eldest daughter. I didn’t know much about it, but it was incredible. I was absolutely amazed by how it works.”

She now runs TinyTalk classes, twice a week, at Weeley and Lawford.

Daughters Jasmine, now aged three, and 18-month-old Kira, both learned sign language when they were babies. Gillian says being able to communicate opened up a new world for her.

She explains: “You start to discover how much they know and understand.

“Kira can only say a few words, but knows 180 signs, so we can talk to each other a lot. She can ask for things, even though she doesn’t know the words for them.”

Gillian says six months is an ideal age for babies to start learning sign language. They pick up signs by copying their parents.

“If you are giving them milk, you sign ‘milk’ to them and they learn the association,” says Gillian, from Dovercourt.

“Then they can ask for things they want or need, as well as telling you what they are interested in.

“We always do it face-to-face and say the words while we are doing the signs, so they are picking up the spoken language, too.”

About a dozen babies and their parents take part in Gillian’s classes. They learn six or seven new “core” signs every session.

“They watch the older children doing a sign and realise they get a response, so they pick it up quite naturally,” says Gillian.

“We do lots of nursery rhymes and songs. It’s good fun. The mums are loving it.”

Gillian admits many people still don’t know baby signing exists, although TinyTalk, whose slogan is “Because babies have so much to say”, now has more than 300 teachers across the country.

There’s a practical spin-off for sleep-deprived parents, too.

When baby starts bawling in the night, they can use sign language to tell you if they want a drink, or their teddy.

Gillian says it can also cut down on dreaded temper tantrums.

She adds: “They still have them, but there are less because they can tell you what they want instead of getting in a strop.

“The joy you see when they know you can understand them is wonderful. They are so happy.”

* For more information about the classes, visit www.tinytalk.co.uk