yet another benefit...

we all know there are so many benefits to signing, right?   countless, countless, benefits!  from reducing frustration, to higher vocabulary, to better social skills...the list is endless.

well, just recently, i discovered yet another benefit.  i'm not quite sure how to put it in words, yet, but i will do my best.

i was showing my son a picture of a police car, and i said to him, "look, it's a police car".  he looked at me, and signed "please" and said "please car".  huh.

a couple days later, we were squeezing limes into our water.  and i said, "do you want some lime water".  he looked at me and signed "lion".  alrighty.

what just happened for me, was i got a glimpse into my little guy's head.  i got a chance to understand what he's hearing.  how he understands what i'm saying to him.  sure, the words aren't quite right, but it shows me how what i'm saying gets processed through his little mind.  all these new words.  he takes it in, but has to filter it through what he already has in that little mind of his.  and sometimes it sticks, sometimes it's connected to something else.  whatever happens, had he not had signs, i could easily assume that a) it's going in one ear and out the other  or b) he understands exactly what i'm saying.

however, with his signs, i now realize that it's not just a) or b).  what is sometimes going on is that he does hear what i'm teaching him, but he also is working things out.  so, for right now, in his mind "please cars" drive around, and we drink "lion water."  and as he works it all out in his mind, i'm ok with that :)

What if...

What if you could understand what your baby was thinking? Wouldn’t that be a huge help as you take care of your little one? Well, you don't have to guess anymore!
A familiar scenario: It is 4 am and you wake up to your child’s cry. You go to their room, try to figure out what the problem is, and then try to make things better. It is late (actually, extremely early), and you are very tired. The guessing game begins - wet diaper? Hungry? Fever? You try everything, but your baby continues to cry. “I wish he could tell me what the problem is,” you think to yourself, “I feel helpless!”
Now imagine this: It is 4 am and you wake up to your child’s cry. You go to their bed and s/he signs “scared” and then “elephants.” You are puzzled for a second, but quickly realize that there is a loud noise coming from a car on the street. “Oh sweetie, it is just a car outside!” You close the living room window, the noise is reduced, your child stops crying, and everyone goes back to sleep. You may think this sounds far-fetched, but it is based on a true story.

Read Monta Briant’s testimonial:
“I have been signing with my daughter from about 6 ½ months old. She is now 13 months, and she does about 40 signs. She will learn a sign after being shown only once, now, and I am in a race to try to come up with more signs. She wants to know the sign for everything! She can tell me just about anything. The other night, as I was putting her to bed, she asked me to close her windows, because there are elephants outside (she thinks) and they might get in (For some reason, she thinks car alarms are elephants, so she hears them out there!). In the past I could only imagine her fears, and we just dismissed her cries of terror as a protest about going to bed?! Thank you so much for this. I try to convince any mother who will listen, to please do it with their baby.” – Monta Briant, CA

Let the Sign Shine!
etel