If you stick with signing, not only will you have an additional language between you, but you'll have given your child a language firmly based in kinesthetic learning.

ASL-based Signing qualifies as a foreign language in most colleges and more and more high schools.

( I checked that statement out with the wife ahead of time and she agreed.) He is eager to make himself understood and it's clear that he has fun signing. We haven't seen any temper tantrums at all caused by our son not being understood. We give him 100% of what he needs, and probably 10% of what he wants. Sign language has given us a way to find out what he wants and what he needs.

Many temper tantrums are caused by frustration at not being understood.

Why not give him the tools to express himself?

Some folks believe that 'Mommy knows what baby needs.' I'm sure that's true, but Mommy also appreciates when baby says ' apple' using sign, rather than simply throwing his banana at Mommy.

Things like this happen ever day for us, and they are utterly magical.

Imagine taking your 1 year old to the zoo and having them sign ' monkey sleeping' when you get the Gorilla House and the monkey's not around.

I say you're missing out on something amazing.

Many families in America use some sign language like Milk and More and basically leave it at that.

Not using sign language would mean that our communication would be limited to pointing and the occasional made up gesture.

I'm gaining at least a year of time communicating with my son.

There's lots of opinions about teaching kids sign language. We reply that we're teaching him Sign Language so we can see what's on his mind a year or two early.

Sometimes folks see us sign to him in public and say 'oh, is he deaf?' with a kind of worried face. We carry a picture dictionary around with us in the baby bag. As you learn a few dozen, you'll see a pattern, and other signs will get easier to learn. It's not that much work to learn the signs. Sticking with Sign Language was the right thing for us to do. That moment really sealed the deal for me. I said, show me.he'd been signing 'pig' all day, a sign I'd taught him the week before, because he wanted a book about Pigs read to him.Īs a new parent, I can't tell you how thrilling it is to connect with a baby, your baby, on a conceptual level.sounds silly to say, but Baby Sign Language can be about more than just ' milk.' We were reading 'Goodnight Moon' just this evening, and my son signed ' moon all done' when we got to the page where the moon was gone from the sky.

Just yesterday Mo mentioned that he'd be pointing to a book and making a sign she didn't recognize. Two months ago he was just barely starting to use the sign for ' more.' Today, he knows at least 30 signs (says Mo, at least 40, says I) and is learning at least one new one a day. He's 14 months old now and the last six weeks have been an explosion of communication. Teaching our son Sign Language has been a dramatic success for us. UPDATE: Check out for more info on Babies and Sign Language!

How to sign won in sign language