So Katja, my neice is nine months old and Jillian has started her on signing. At first I thought this was a joke. When I origninally saw this in Meet the Fockers, I thought this was a movie construct. But no, it is true. Now everytime Katja wants something Jill (or Dan or Mom, but not Dad he can't get the hand movements down) is signing like mad so that she will know the sign for the object she wants. In a reverse turn of the old adage 'use your words' it is 'use your hands'.But, today I was checking out a new blog, Nine Pound Dictator and I saw this ad for a company called Wee Hands, whose slogan is 'why wait to communicate!' Thousands of years humans communicated with grunts and burps and now we expect babies to be able to demand juice by 1 year!
1 comment:
Heidi
I think I've already given you my two cents about the fad of baby signing but what the heck here I go again.........
Today we pressure our kids to master skills & develop abilities way beyond their developmental capabiities. Every time I hear about a mother buying into "Baby Einstein" videos or including time for ABC flash cards into her infants day I want to puke!! What's the answer to smart well adjusted babies......... LET THEM PLAY!!!
There is a fabulous book called "Einstein Never Used Flash Cards" which advocates the importance of creative and free play in learning for young children. It is written by two developmental psychologists and they maintain that bright children with a curiosity and desire to learn need to play more and spend less time memorizing, doing ABC drills etc.
Our children have their entire adult lives to spend working, remembering facts and analyzing information. Do we really need to suck the fun out of their early years by instituting structured learning before they can stand up?
Okay I'm done ranting.
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