Playtime is a Time to Talk, Talk, Talk

Although we frequently recommend playing make-believe with your child because it nurtures vocabulary development and conversation skills, there is definitely a place in the playroom of every child for non-fantasy toys—manipulative toys in particular. The adjective “manipulative” is used to describe toys where the goal is to make something interesting happen by manipulating components. For example, a typical busy box has handles to pull, windows to open, switches to push, wheels o spin. Toddler versions of these include age-old favorites such as stacking rings, puzzles, jack-in-the-boxes, and shape-sorters.

These toys are wonderful because they promote problem solving as well as provide entertainment. Just keep in mind that conversations needn’t turn totally boring when moving parts become the focus. Make sure to go beyond unimaginative phrases like “how about that one.” Be creative. Describe the colors and movements. Talk about the characters that pop up. Make comparisons to other toys. Ask your baby which parts she likes best. Talk about who gave the toy to your child. And don’t forget to extol your baby’s virtues with more than just “Wow!” when she does a good job. How much longer can it take to add, “You’ve sure made Mickey Mouse pop right up! He pops out like Donald Duck did. Remember how Donald Duck jumped up when you turned the wheel? Let’s show Daddy when he comes home.” As we are always telling toddlers to do, “Use your words!”

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Signing in Action: A Hair-Raising Experience

One of our research findings, in fact, the finding that surprised us the most, was a significant effect of signing on intellectual development. When we tested the children from our federally-funded study when they were 8 years old, we found significantly higher IQs among those who had signed as babies compared to those who had not.

Why might that be? Well, the fact that we know signing provides a jumpstart to verbal language development is certainly an important factor. Another contributor, we believe, is that the signing provides babies a way to ask questions and gain information about the world around them well without having to wait for words. The following story—which was emailed to us years ago from a mom in the Netherlands—provides a great example. See what you think.

As 14-month-old Sam sat next to his mother on the bus, a young man with his hair in dreadlocks sat down across the aisle. Obviously fascinated, Sam turned to his mother and patted his head, his sign for HAT. “Oh, honey I know it looks like a hat, but it’s really hair,” whispered his mom, simultaneously rubbing some of her hair between her fingers, the sign for HAIR. Sam turned back to the man, stared intently, and again caught his mother’s eye, this time patting his head with more vehemence. By now the young man had become curious enough to ask what was going on. “My son thinks you’re wearing a hat and doesn’t believe me when I tell him it’s really your hair,” Sam’s mom explained. In response, the young man invited Sam to feel his dreadlocks for himself. So Sam did, and no sooner had his fingers touched the young man’s hair than Sam raised his hand to his head and with eyes wide with surprise rubbed some strands of his own hair between his fingers. The message was as clear as if he had spoken the words: “It is hair!”

Imagine such mini lessons multiplied throughout the day and you’ll have a sense of what I’m talking about. Signs enable babies to gather information about things they are specifically interested in, thereby helping them start amassing knowledge without having to wait for words. The cumulative effect is more advanced intellectual performance down the line.

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

This Little Piggy Went to Market

I recently posted in this blog a description of an experimental study I did at UC Davis to see if toddlers would use a sign to indicate that they remembered something that had happened 2 months earlier. (They did.) I certainly wasn’t surprised by our findings because I had long been hearing stories from parents indicating real life examples of babies using signs to indicate memories. Here’s one of my favorites:

A roly-poly potbellied pig was 15-month-old Brandon’s favorite exhibition at a street fair in a neighboring town he had never visited before. In fact, Brandon was so enchanted with the pig that he sued his sign for PIG (fingertip to nose) countless times during the day to let his parents know he wanted to see it again…and again…and again. His parents happily obliged, enjoying the fact that he could actually tell them what he wanted. But something even more amazing happened six weeks later. Brandon and his parents visited the town for a second time, and even though there as no street fair and not pig, Brandon suddenly began to sign PG with great glee. At first his parents were confused, but then they realized they were standing in the exact spot where the pig had been six weeks earlier! The fair may have been a distant memory to his parents, but it was clearly still vivid to him. Wow! Where his parents impressed! Not only had he remembered a pig seen long ago, but he had also remembered the exact greasy spot by the sidewalk where it had been, showing his parents just how smart their baby was!

Brandon’s is only one of many stories showing signs being used to talk about memories. Do you have examples of your own? I’d love to hear them! Send them along to me via email at info@babysigns.com (putting Baby Signs in the subject line to make sure I get it.) and maybe they’ll make it into a future posting right here!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program and Professor Emeritus, UC Davis