A number of parents seem to like to teach their kids baby sign language, including some I am friends with. They brag endlessly about how many signs their kid knows and may as well be paid for advertising various companies that promote baby sign language. I've grown tired of it. I've done my research and decided against teaching it, so obviously I disagree with that approach.
Any search about this subject on the internet reveals that kids who learn sign language tend to be delayed in learning to speak. Sure, before kids are able to grasp complete control of the ability to move their tongue in various ways to make sounds it makes sense to teach them this skill. Although really, by the time they are able to make signs without issue, they are also old enough to start speaking. Yet, why learn to speak if you can "talk" with your hands? I wouldn't be so set against it if it was ASL (American Sign Language) which is universally understood, but no, there are special signs that are used instead.
Am I missing something here? What is the benefit over learning to talk? Maybe there is a really good reason to do this, but I'm sure not seeing it. My kid will be speaking in sentences and paragraphs long before our friend's kids are able to say 50 words. This leads me to my next theory.
Everyone talks about the terrible twos and more and more parents are now talking about how three is worse than two. I often wonder though, is part of the reason we are hearing more about how terrible the age of three is related to the delay in speech from teaching children sign language? Being a first time parent of a child who is not yet even 2, I can only speculate, but here is my theory.
A large part of the reason that children of 2 (or 3) are hard to manage is because they are unable to express their desires to us. They are still mastering their language skills and learning their boundaries and the expectations we have of them.
My theory is that by teaching our kids to speak instead of this so-called sign language the effects of the "terrible twos" (or threes) will be reduced. Their language skills will be mastered sooner if they have less to learn about how to express themselves. I also believe that many of the "terrible two" issues arise from the fact that parents decide to have multiple children and usually within 2-3 years of each other. This steals the focus of the parent away from the older child and in order to gain more attention they act out and push the boundaries.
I'm no specialist in this area, but common sense tells me this. I anxiously await for Kiernan to hit this magical age and see if we have the issues that I hear about so often. Maybe I could apply for a government grant to study this and poll people about whether their child was worse at age two or age three, if they taught this child baby sign language, and if they had a second child about that same time. Then I could publish the results that "terrible twos" (or threes) really exist. LOL!
On Hiatus
14 years ago
3 comments:
Hmmm...haven't thought about that before, Kim...the effect of teaching sign language on their speech. I just assumed that everyone used speech and the sign language together, not just the sign language as a substitute. I always regarded it as a supplement to the communication process.
Before kids, yeah I might have thought that too, but now that we have one and know people who use it with theirs... Well, let's just say I know that not to be the case. There may be exceptions though.
I know these kids know the words, they can sign them when asked, so it is not a matter of not understanding. They simply don't try to say the word.
This sign language thing is something new, I certainly don't remember it at all as a kid. As far as I remember our generation had no such luxury of not having to try to make fools of ourselves and say words. Particularly those that are hard for kids to pronounce.
Yeah, we certainly didn't have parents using SL as a tool for our generation, but it was in education by the time I got to college. Yes, they were even using it in the classroom, especially in Kindergarten. Most of it was signing the alphabet along with learning, writing, and SAYING each letter and sound.
About 10+ years ago I noticed friends of mine using sign language with their children (colors, foods, requests, pleases/thank yous, etc.). Guess I should have paid attention to the verbal part.
These days it's intriques me how each child is so different in their speech development. Some children have no interest in talking (at all), some talk and I can't make one recognizable word out, and then some talk better than I do. It's so interesting...
Post a Comment