a great book for very young children. Introduces ways to use sign language to help communicate between adults and babies.
1 book

The authors in this book encourage parents to work with their children and make up their own signs. This might be an effective approach for some families, but it wasn't for us. For one, I could never remember the signs we made up. Having set ASL signs helped give me a reference to remind me what I was teaching my daughter so I could be consistent. Also, my daughter has signing cousins and it was important to me that she learn actual ASL signs so she could communicate with them (in baby talk, of course). I loved signing with my daughter, but this book wasn't the right approach for my family. I preferred [book: Sign with Your Baby], by Joseph Garcia. ( )

This book provides a more robust introduction to baby sign language than a book I previously reviewed on this topic, Sign with Your Baby: How to Communicate with Infants before They Can Speak.

I especially appreciated the easy-to-digest "Ten Steps to Success" in this book:

1. Start with just a few signs

2. Always use the baby sign and word together

3. Repeat the sign and word several times

4. Point to the object when possible

5. When necessary, gently guide your child's hands in making the sign

6. Make baby signing a regular part of your day

7. Watch for opportunities to model the signs

8. Be flexible and watch for your baby's own sign creations

9. Be patient!

10. Remember, make learning fun

However, the sign illustrations were much clearer and more detailed in Sign with Your Baby. But I'm finding the Baby Hands Productions video dictionary of signs more helpful than illustrations anyway.

One part of Baby Signs did not sit well with me, but it's just one paragraph out of the whole book. The authors recommend the "Baby Signs Video for Babies" as a way to teach babies more signs, then go on to say:

"Of course, extensive video watching by very young children is not a good idea. However, chosen carefully, videos produced specifically for babies and toddlers can be beneficial."

But they don't reference any research to support this claim. I've never come across any research indicating that TV watching by babies and toddlers has any lasting positive effects. In fact, I read the opposite in Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think And What We Can Do About It—research quoted there suggests TV watching before a child learns to read teaches them passive learning habits that can be detrimental in all their future learning experiences.

The authors are generally diligent about referencing research to support their claims, but here I think they could have done a much better job. (The cynical side of me thinks they might have vagued up the supporting arguments because they have a video they're trying to sell.)

But that is just one paragraph out of the whole book, so I probably just need to let it go! This book is clear and well-written, and I just ordered a copy to own from PaperBackSwap. ( )

The factual information was accurate and useful, but there seemed to be a whole lot of cute little anecdotes that weren't really necessary in the understanding of said information. There was maybe a grand total of 20 pages of useful information and the rest was filler. ( )

This is a useful resource for anyone interested in teaching infants sign language. Chapter 6 provides several short stories that can be told with accompanying signs. Chapter 9 provides a list of signs, including pictures, descriptions, memory aids and possible situations. Chapter 10 has familiar rhymes with accompanying signs. ( )