CommuterMom: Does anyone know a good translator?
CommuterGirl’s vocabulary is growing every day…but it isn’t all English. I think she has picked up a combination of Pig Latin, Spanish, French, and Parseltongue.
She’s 18 months, and like any toddler, knows what she wants, when she wants it, but not always how to ask for it. This morning she had a minor meltdown because we couldn’t understand that she was asking for a waffle. “Wa wa.” I should have known! Her grandfather is Gramps…but somehow for CommuterGirl he is called Pete. (His real name isn’t anything close!)
I am so glad that we do a lot of sign language at home and at school. I can’t imagine raising a toddler without it. CommuterGirl can sign for water, milk, cookies (her favorite), eat, drink, more, and even say please and thank you. She has between 15 – 20 signs in her vocabulary. It has saved us when she is looking for the butterfly toy…it sounds a lot like she is saying “bye bye.”
A lot of people have asked us if we think her language has been delayed because of the signing…I think it has helped by limiting her frustration related to communicating with us as she learns more words. And, she is learning the words as she learns the signs. Are any of you using signs with your children?
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5 comments:
I used signing because my son was greatly delayed in his speech... no one really could figure out the reason, and speech therapy only mitigated it. I don't think signing slows down the speech process anymore than learning a second language slows it down, I think it just takes slightly longer to develop a more diverse vocabulary when you are learning it in two languages (like signing and spoken english).
If you're worried about enunciation (and I wouldn't be yet), try playing with her for about 30-60 minutes a day with something fun and specific to practice the signing and the saying of each word: "fluffy feather" and throw some feathers in the air, "blowing bubbles" and blow lots of bubbles to pop, "squishy shaving cream" was a favorite of my son's, we would put it on the kitchen counter and squish it in our hands (p.s. if you do this one, buy the unscented kind!!). Focus on single words and fun sounds for sun objects, and she'll love it.
My son was about 3 before most people could understand him, now, at 4.5, he's above-average in terms of vocabulary, but still about 6 months behind his peers in terms of how clearly he speaks... I don't think that there's anything to worry about, but you can always look up a speech therapist and have him/her meet with your daughter a few times to give you some better ideas.
Personally, I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to start signing. She's only 4 months now, but the older babies in her classroom at Bright Horizons use signing and I think it makes it much easier for everyone, especially the babies themselves. And from what I've seen anecdotally, if anything, signing helps, not hinders, speech. I have one friend with a 16 month old boy who talks with a larger vocabulary than most 2 1/2 year olds, and completely clearly. (I can understand every word he says.) They were huge sign language devotees.
Of my two daughters, my oldest had a speech delay and my younger child did not. I did signs with the first b/c her frustration was mounting when her mouth couldn't keep up with her mind. Her doctor said, you may not be able to give her speech yet, but you can give her language. I also made up a poster of the top 25 signs that she used and gave them to the teachers at daycare, to babysitters, etc. so they could understand her.
I did signs with my second because i saw how amazing the sign language experiece was.
With my oldest, she had about 100+ signs and what was amazing to me most was that when she finally began speaking at close to 3 years of age, all of her first words were those that she signed. And now by 4 1/2 she tested age appropriate for expressive language.
She still signs for fun even though she can say anything and everything verbally!
One last thing - i remember that i was told to always do three things when you sign - say it, show it and sign it.
Good luck with it!
Hello Commutter Mom,
While not a mom (I'm a Dad), my wife and I felt that teaching our son sign language actually helped his verbal development. It took quite a while for him to catch on to the concept, but once he did, he quickly learned over 50 signs. For the ones we couldn't find "proper" signs for, we simply made up our own. In the long run, he learned an amazing variety of words from signing and a child who can communicate effectively is a lot easier to please! He is now 3, and has an excellent vocabulary. I would say to keep up the signing!
Wawa means little kid in arabic...there is a song called Wawa its very good its sung by Haifa Wehbe
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