Helpful Signs

Baby Signs, Inc. has been posting links to posters for parents, etc. to learn signs on a regular basis. Recently, it posted the sign for "sit down" (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs088/1100670752341/archive/1104277780516.html). It got me thinking about how I still use signs with my daughter even though she is almost 7 years old and really has no need to use signs for communicating. I find, however, that I have the need for signs to communicate with her. I really don't want to be the mom who is "fussing" at her child to do something, like sit down, be quiet, etc. With signs, I don't have to be.

When she was going to preschool, I would drop her off at the door, and the first thing she was supposed to do was to wash her hands. She would always look back at me, and I would do the sign for wash to remind her to wash her hands.

One day, we were at an event at the library, and she kept standing up when she wasn't supposed to. So I would do the sign for "sit down" and she would then sit down.

Last year, in Kindergarten, I was volunteering in her classroom, and she and a little boy were holding hands. As sweet as it was, I didn't want my daughter holding hands with a little boy so I signed the word, "stop" to her. The little boy didn't know what I meant, but my daughter did, and she dropped his hand pretty quickly.

This year, in first grade, she always seems to want to get up and hug me the whole time I am in there to volunteer in her class. I have to gently sign to her to "sit down" although I then go over to her for a hug.

Signing with my daughter as a baby/toddler was so helpful. She could communicate with us so much - all that she wanted, observed, felt, etc. However, even though she doesn't need signs to communicate with us, it's great to know that I can still use them to communicate with her. I love not being that "loud" mom.