We taught Darah some basic sign language when she was pre-verbal, and it was a really awesome experience to be able to communicate clearly with our baby. I believe that it contributed to Darah’s strong verbal skills as a young toddler, and I also believe it was a key player in helping us potty train her very early (20 months). We knew without a doubt that we would do the same with our second.
What we have found this time around is that our 3 year old really enjoys being reminded of the signs she learned a used a few years ago, and she REALLY loves showing the signs to her little sister. Seeing Darah serve in the role of teacher gave me an idea: I needed to find a signing DVD that she and I could watch together to enjoy, and also to brush up on our skills so that we could broaden Layah’s signing vocabulary.
I Can Sign is the DVD we are using, and I really like it. I personally would not choose to put my infant in front of the television to watch it, but it is really great for an older sibling (age 2 and up, I would say). I have been watching with Darah so that we can practice together. At this point we’ve only been showing Layah the signs for milk, food, more, diaper, and sleep. She’s been signing milk since she was 4 1/2 months old, and I believe that she understands all of the rest of them. But I Can Sign has reminded me that there are many more signs that would be helpful to teach her.
If you have the desire to teach sign language to your baby, this is a good DVD for parents. But I would say it is an EXCELLENT DVD for an older sibling who also wants to be involved. It retails for $14.99 and can be purchased online. While you are checking out this DVD, be sure to look around at other great products from Baby First TV. I’m really interested in their DVDs about my first gym at home. No doubt that could give parents who can make it to a toddler gym class for whatever reason (time, expense) some good ideas for recreating activities at home.
I think this DVD or several others from Baby First TV would make a great shower gift or new big sibling gift. If you’d like to get the latest information from the company, be sure to follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
I completely agree that sign language helps children develop their language skills earlier. We taught out daughter sign language as a baby and her verbal skills have always been advanced for her age. She also potty trained early, she did have a set back though when her brother was born in July, but that is to be expected. She is now 2 and a half and he is five months and it is so great seeing the signs that she used to use all the time come back to her (sometimes without our reminding) and how she helps to teach her brother the signs.
I’m glad to hear that you had a positive experience with sign language just like we did! Some people questioned if it would delay Darah’s speech but I believe it made it come sooner, actually! And it was SO helpful with potty training!