Sign Language

I mentioned signing in my last post, and I want to make a plug for it. We started teaching Jonah to sign when he was around six months old -- younger, actually, than the books recommend. We used Sign with your Baby by Joseph Garcia as a guide. It teaches based on American Sign Language and includes a useful DVD. I was skeptical that Jonah would pick it up, given how inconsistent we were in signing to him. But eventually, he started signing "milk" and then "more". (The picture here has him signing "cookie" at dessert time.) Now, he probably knows a dozen signs in addition to the words that he can verbalize.

Why bother? The main argument that I find persuasive is that toddlers get frustrated when they can't communicate. Signing gives them a vocabulary. I didn't really appreciate this when Jonah was six months old, but now I see how he will often say things with clear intention, but that my wife and I can only sometimes decipher. Signing allows him to communicate both things and concepts. I have to believe that this makes his life a little easier, and it definitely makes our lives richer as a family.

Some say that teaching your kid to sign helps him talk earlier. From what I've read, the data on this is inconclusive. In fact, there is some evidence that, because they don't need to talk, signing can slow down their verbal development. I'm not convinced either way, but I know that Jonah smiles when he signs and we understand what he is saying.