IT'S the question that frazzles all first-time parents: why is my baby crying? Now a nursery in Glasgow is helping take the mystery out of the tears and tantrums.

The Rowan Tree Nursery in Baillieston is the first in the city to teach babies and toddlers sign language to help them communicate their needs before they can talk.

Babies as young as six months are shown simple gestures for milk, more and tired and eventually learn to make the signs themselves.

The increasingly popular teaching method is based on the understanding that babies learn to use their hands long before they can talk and love to mimic.

Experts say signing leads to calmer babies with improved language and communication.

Although it is designed for babies, toddlers at the nursery are also taught to talk, and sing, in sign language.

Tutors say it has improved behaviour and self esteem among the older children because it reduces the need for pupils to raise their voices to be understood.

The only word youngsters are not taught to sign, which needs no explanation, is Why?

Tutor Julie Reid, 40, who runs TinyTalk classes, said: "I took my son Scott to classes when he was four-months-old.

"By five months he was signing milk'. He now knows about 50-60 signs.

"He does not have full blown tantrums and doesn't have to struggle to tell me what he wants. He can tell me when he is tired or hungry.

"Most babies won't sign back until six months, but they recognise signs very early on.

"With older children it gives them another way to communicate. If they are having a tantrum, or feel poorly, sometimes their vocabulary falls away."

The idea of teaching babies a vocabulary of signs was inspired by Dr Joseph Garcia, an American child development expert.

Having discovered how easily hearing babies of deaf parents learned sign language, he also noticed these babies appeared less demanding than non-signing babies because they could express their thoughts and needs more easily.

Both their understanding of language and their motor skills develop much faster than their ability to speak.

While baby signing does not promise to cut out tears or tantrums, babies as young as six months have been taught to "sign" successfully.

The method is becoming more popular in the UK and several organisations run baby signing classes all over the country.

Ms Reid uses British Sign Language, although other practitioners use another version called Makaton.

She says learning to sign does not hinder speech development in babies and toddlers.

"As soon as they can talk they will drop the sign language," she says.

"It improves their speech and vocabulary. They are having to put words together before they can vocalise.

"Research in America with children who have hearing, but who have one deaf parent, found they were better speakers and had a better range of vocabulary than children who were not signing."

The tutor says baby signing is particularly beneficial to second children, who tend to be poorer communicators because older siblings often speak for them.

All staff at Rowan Tree are now fully trained in baby signing and nursery manager Linda Gordon believes it should be available to all pre-school facilities.

She said: "It's not difficult to learn. Most of the signs are very obvious.

"A lot of parents are really busy these days and perhaps not talking to their babies or toddlers as much as they should be.

"It is another reason why I feel signing should be available at all nurseries.

"We are also finding the older ones are teaching their younger siblings.

"My grandson is just 18 months and he can sign all the words to Old MacDonald.

"It amazes me."