Sunday, April 01, 2007

Now I'm reading Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk and also Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn. I am fascinated with these two books.

I had heard of the idea of using sign language with babies before, but decided I'd better get to reading now so I could decide if it was something worthwhile to pursue or not. So I bought the books (used and very cheap), did some research and was amazed at the huge difference in the amount of spoken words a child has and the amount of signs they can use. One blog I read regularly is from a mom who uses baby sign with her daughter. Her little girl uses about 40 words but knows (and uses) the signs for 100. Imagine being that much more able to communicate with your baby before they are even able to speak! I love that idea.

And some reports I've read have even said that babies who sign are less fussy because they are able to communicate and be understood than babies who do not sign. Now I have no way of knowing if this is just hype to sell baby sign books and programs or not, but it makes sense to me. At work, I see a lot of behavior issues simply because the child lacks the ability to express themselves and make themselves be understood. Can't hurt to try, right? What do you think about that?

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