25 Feb, 2010
Babies and sign language and communication: how cool is that?
Posted by andrea tomkins in: parenting|Publishing/writing/career stuff
When our kids were small we had a lot of friends who were childless and single. I spoke to these people about how absolutely THRILLING it was that our kids were learning to talk but wasn’t sure if they truly understood how exciting it was. Look at it this way, I said, what if all of a sudden your cat could talk to you? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Don’t you want to know what’s on their mind? Well THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
There was no disagreement with that. Ever.
To be able to communicate with someone who doesn’t yet know how to talk (and doesn’t have the physical ability to do so) seems like a minor miracle.
When Sarah was small I was determined to teach her baby sign language. It was just beginning to be a hot topic. And … then I promptly forgot.
Oh well.
Emma had a bit of sign language in preschool. I STILL know the signs for whale, cheese, and crackers, and black cat. I am sure that is going to come in handy some day. :)
All kidding aside, if you could find a way to communicate with your infant or toddler early – that is, before he or she could learn to speak – would you?
There is a sweet place to sign up for baby sign language classes in Ottawa. Check out the piece I wrote for SavvyMom about a class that is specifically geared to parents and babies.
Have you tried teaching sign language to your baby? I’d love to hear about your experience.