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Summary: An exciting way to communicate with your young baby
Review: I read this book while I was pregnant with our third and put it to use immediately, signing "milk" when I nursed him. He is now one year old and can put many signs together and actually convey his feelings, observations, etc. It has been wonderful!
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Summary: The basic concepts here are good, but poorly presented.
Review: This book has a good basic premise: that babies can communicate with simple sign language before they are adept at speech. Teach them basic sign language (and watch for signs your baby invents) and you've enhanced their ability to communicate. Makes sense. The problem is that the book reads like a sales pitch. It is comprised almost entirely of testimonials from parents who use baby signs with their infants and toddlers, and how transformative this has been. It gets pretty dull pretty quickly.If the authors had stated their premise, explained techniques for teaching signs and included some suggested signs, then given a couple of examples of baby sign in action, this would have been an excellent book. As it was, I felt the whole time as though I had purchased and was reading a pitch for a seminar -- a seminar that, like the book, would have taken hours to expound on 15 minutes worth of information. I would suggest that you already know what is written here, and to spend your time and money elsewhere.
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Summary: This is a very important childcare book!
Review: I have three older children ages 15, 13 and almost 12. I wish we'd thought about Koko the gorilla and tried this idea with them (they're at least as smart as the big furry guy, ususally...). Now that we've got little Lizzy, aged 17 months, we're all teaching her signs, and she's also teaching us, as well as her caregivers and the other little chimps at daycare. I'm a language development specialist and an English teacher, and I love to see the way this method encourages the formation of language concepts in my babies' mind. She's been "saying" three word sentences since 13 months,and the level of bonding and reduction of what-does-that-baby-need stress has been remarkable. For attachment parents, this idea fits into the concept so well, I just can't believe we didn't think of it before.
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Summary: This is a "must read" book for all parents of infants!
Review: As a former student of Dr. Linda Acredolo at the University of California, Davis, I have had the opportunity to learn about this development in communication first hand. Seeing infants who do not yet posses the ability to communicate verbally express their thoughts and desires through baby signs is an extraordinary sight. Every parent I have talked to who has used this method in communitcation stands by it 100% and each is amazed at the results. I definitely recommend this book to all parents of young children - I can't wait to use "baby signs" with my own child due in November!
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Summary: This book changed our lives
Review: I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful and valuable this book is. It is written clearly and simply, and even busy parents can digest it in an hour or so. And what a difference that hour will make! You can begin communicating with your child almost immediately. Using "baby signs" as described in this book will not delay your child's language development. (That's the first questions most grandparents will ask!) On the contrary, it gets you both so addicted to communicating with each other that the motivation for developing spoken language is as strong as it could be. This book really did change our lives. It was so wonderful to be able to communicate clearly and specifically with our daughter in the months before her now incredible verbal abilities blossomed forth. "Baby signs" truly provide a window into your baby's mind. I am very grateful I discovered it when I did and urge all parents of young babies to put these signs to work for you.
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Summary: A simple and valuable method to talk with your little one.
Review: With a little time and effort, your toddler will be telling you all about the animals in their books and the airplanes flying in the sky. The book gives very useful tips for determining when to start using Baby Signs (usually around 10 months old) and what gestures work best. Consistancy and repetition are key in teaching Baby Signs. Lots of pictures and "success" stories. Well worth reading
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Summary: WONDERFUL to be able to communicate with baby before speech!
Review: I read this book and began using the baby signs when Joey was almost 8 months old. I did them over and over and over until it got to the point of where I thought he would NEVER catch on. But I kept it up. And he DID catch on! It was amazing! He finally did his first sign (all done/gone) 3 months later - and they just snowballed from there. I even got to the point of making up signs that weren't in the book, or I'd alter the sign the book shows to fit my needs. Before he could fully talk, he could communicate to tell me if he was hurt, scared, hungry, thirsty, sleepy, etc. He could tell me he wanted his blanket or pacifier even if they were nowhere in sight. My husband, who was SO skeptical after so long with no results, was totally grateful. And parents, don't worry about speech; he continued to say words verbally as he learned new signs and could say about 10 words at 12-13 months. Joey was advanced in speech at his 18 mo. checkup, and he talked in sentences at nearly 21 months. He is now 23 months and says new words and sentence combinations every day. The signs HELP your baby's speech! I highly recommend this book to any and every parent out there. The rewards are wonderful.
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Summary: This book receives my highest recommendations!
Review: I am an early childhood educator and have a masters degree in education. I have worked in settings from infant centers to preschools, to public education classrooms. I must say that this is one of the books I most highly recommend to parents with young children. I read this book a few years ago, before I had children. I was so fascinated with it that I purchased it for many of my friends who had children. It has been so wonderful watching these children communicate with their parents before they were able to speak! I am now a mother and am using Baby Signs with my daugher. It's even more fun to use with my own child. There are even workshops available for Parents and play classes available for parents and babies which are so much fun. I found them at www.babysigns.com. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and would recommend the classes even more!
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Summary: Best investment for you and your child
Review: I had heard of signing with your baby and was VERY interested in trying it out with my newborn son. Around 7 months we started with various mealtime and animal signs. Then a few weeks later he displayed his first baby sign. FISH!! Every time he passed his beloved pets in their watery home he would squeal and start smacking his little lips. I was overjoyed! He soon followed with "all gone/done", "hi/bye" and "more". At 9.5 months I was even more impressed when he made up his own sign for "phone". There is no end to my amazement at how much this little guy is capable of. This book is an INCREDIBLE tool for any parent interested in opening the lines of communication with her baby. The rhymes and easily referenced dictionary offer parents ample material for playtime, mealtime or anytime. This book is one of the best investments you can make for you and your child.
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Summary: Who CARES if it's not ASL? It works!
Review: Teaching my son baby signs is the (second) best thing I have done for my son (breastfeeding long term is #1). I cannot overstate how wonderful it is to:
a) avoid meltdowns by his being able to communicate his needs
b) peek inside his mind and have "conversations" with him long before he can articulate much more than DaDa and MaMa.
Who cares if it's not ASL? Those who object to its not being ASL (which it never claims to be) are missing the point entirely. What's important is the communication, not perfection. Insisting that babies sign ASL when their chubby little fingers are incapable of the finer motor skills ASL requires is like asking a beginning piano student to leap into "Moonlight Sonata" when "Heart and Soul" is more their ability level.
I now give this book (or the starter kit) to all my friends having babies. This book, a Baby Bjorn and a Tummy Tub (a European bathing tub...look for it on the web) and you are off to a great start with your child.
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