New parents everywhere have felt the exasperation of not knowing what their little darling wants. Enduring hours of a tiring guessing game can lead to anger, frustration and temper tantrums - and that's just the parents!

But these days mums and dads no longer have to wait for their child to utter that all-important first word to know what's on their mind.

That's because baby signing can offer a real short-cut to communication between the generations. Thanks to a series of simple signs taken from British Sign Language (BSL), babies can learn how to tell parents what they really want and need long before they can put it into words.

Katja O'Neill's Signing Babies classes are a mix of music, puppets and songs and introduce children and parents to the basics of signing using the Garcia gestures.

Mother-of-three Katja first got into baby signing in 2003, and taught herself about 100 signs which she started to use with her children Benjamin and Christina, now aged six and four.

She was impressed with the results and went on to gain qualifications in Makaton - a form of sign language - and BSL before starting a baby signing course in Hatfield in 2004.

Signing Babies has since spread throughout Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, with classes held in Luton at St Mary's Church in the town centre. There are also plans to start new sessions at the Grasmere Children's Centre in October.

Katya said: "Giving babies the means to express things with their hands and communicate relieves their frustration.

"Long before babies can sign back they can understand the words you sign to them. I could tell Hannah could understand me, she knew what was going to happen and that helped me to settle her."

The classes are more like informal playgroups, full of playful tots and chatty parents, but with a difference. Parents and their children all sit in a circle and are welcomed by the instructor and her puppet, Signing Sam, who helps to sign and capture the attention of the children. The hour long class is used to sing nursery rhymes and learn new songs, all accompanied with their signs, and to recap old signs and receive helpful tips and advice.

Pippa Martin, who takes the Luton classes and is mum to Joel, 21 months, said: "The best thing is when the parents come back to class and tell me that their child has been signing at home. I started signing with Joel when he was 14 months and it took six months for him to start signing back. But it was well worth the wait! Now he knows about 75 signs and picks up new ones really easily."

But does the use of signs slow down speech development? According to the experts, not a bit - it can even speed it up, as well as stimulating intellectual development, enhancing self-esteem and strengthening the bond between parent and infant.

Katja said: "People worry that it might delay speech, but babies who can sign actually have enhanced speech development. This is because they are learning about communication and more connections are being formed in the brain."

She also points out that baby signing can be very beneficial to babies and children who have Down's Syndrome, autism or other special needs as their speech often develops even later.

All the signs are very basic and easy to learn, babies start off learning the signs for milk, food, more and dirty nappy, and then move on to signs for family members, animals, toys, things outside and warnings.

Amanda Small has already seen the results with the son Max. She said: "He did his first sign, milk, when he was seven months old and I nearly fell off my chair! He is 11 months now and does about 15 signs, but he understands around 30. I feel he is so much more settled and happy as a result."

Babies can start signing classes from birth but will not be physically able to reproduce the signs until they are around six months. The older the child is the quicker they will be able to pick up the signs, but it usually takes a six-month old between eight to 12 weeks to start signing back.

Claire Lee and baby Kayden have just started coming to the Luton classes. Claire said: "The reason I come is to prevent him from getting frustrated and having tantrums. His world is getting wider and he wants to explore and express himself more. He has no signs yet, but I'll definitely stick with it."

>> To find out more, call Pippa on 01582 370826 or visit the website www.signingbabies.co.uk.