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kielma's review
2.0
If you've already decided you want to use baby signs, this book is not the book for you. Mostly this is advertising for their program, trying to convince you to do it. It doesn't really teach you how to do it. If you want to use baby signs, get an ASL dictionary or make up your own easy signs!
empathephant's review
inspiring
slow-paced
1.0
Great concept which I will probably use, but I could have read a summary of the ideas in a blog post and gotten everything I needed out of it.
kellyholmes's review
5.0
This book provides a more robust introduction to baby sign language than a book I previously reviewed on this topic, [b:Sign with Your Baby: How to Communicate with Infants Before They Can Speak|139806|Sign with Your Baby How to Communicate with Infants Before They Can Speak|Joseph Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348584655l/139806._SX50_.jpg|134771].
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've read the opposite in [b:Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It|733206|Endangered Minds Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It|Jane M. Healy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405259828l/733206._SY75_.jpg|719395].
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've read the opposite in [b:Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It|733206|Endangered Minds Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It|Jane M. Healy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405259828l/733206._SY75_.jpg|719395].
imperfectcj's review
2.0
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.
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