I strongly disagree with your position on teaching babies sign language.
I researched this fairly well after my twins were born, bought a book
titled " Teaching your baby sign language" (I think) and decided to try
it with Kevin and Caitlin. It is well known that children understand
language long before they can speak. For example: most 10-12 month olds
have a pretty good idea what "no" means, but can not necessarily speak
the word. I surmise that some of the irritation young kids have is
their inability to communicate effectively. Yes, there is non-verbal
comm., but why not give them the tools to communicate even more clearly
if you can? It has also been shown that babies who have been taught
sign language begin speaking earlier and have a temporary advantage in
language as well.
My kids learned "more" first, and were able to "tell" me that they
wanted more of what they were eating. Sure, they could do this by
pointing and grunting, but learning and using actual words or symbols
that represent words is nice and beneficial to learning overall.
Quickly after mastering "more", they learned "please" and combined the
two very effectively, something that takes much longer to do verbally.
These learning times for a new word were usually just one day.
One unexpected advantage came when at about 15 months, Caitlin signed
"hurt" and pointed to her ear. She had no fever and no runny nose, I
hadn't suspected a thing. Sure enough, she had an ear infection. (One
of many to come, unfortunately)
I abhor the "Baby Wise" mentality as inhumane and worse, but this tool
is just that and not necessarily part of an agenda designed to turn
babies into grownups over night. It is easy to condemn everything
associated with the "Baby Wise" program, but just because most of it is
awful (IMHO), doesn't mean that 100% of it is.
Please consider the possible benefits of teaching a child a way to
communicate that is developmentally feasible for them .
--
Denny Rice, RN, IBCLC
Dallas Texas USA
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