On The Blogroll: Nater Tot

The NYMetroParents blogroll features the best blogs in the parenting world, from New York and beyond. Here's a closer look at why we love these mom bloggers and dad bloggers and how they're shaping the web for parenting today.

Blogging From: Long Island

Amber explores the newness of motherhood and strives to make life a little less “toxic” for her family on her blog Nater Tot. Her ultimate goal is to make her community outside New York City a safe and healthy place to raise her baby, and she welcomes readers to follow her in this journey, including how she is teaching her son Nate sign language.

Amber began teaching Nate sign language when he was four months old, hoping to reap the benefits of teaching a second language to your child while he or she is still in the “hearing stage.” She found that in doing so, she felt a deeper communicative bond with her son, and that he was able to speak and communicate his desires at a much younger age than most babies.

In the sign language forum of the blog, Amber notes every detail of Nate’s sign language journey, including the chronological order of his learning and at what age she began practicing each one making it simple for new mothers to follow in her footsteps. She also lists a number of books that made the teaching a little easier and a few articles that discuss the cognitive importance of sign language for your baby. She’s certainly done her research.