sign language » Stop, Drop and Blog

Signing Our Way Out of Diapers

Apr 012009

I’ve mentioned before that we use sign language in this house. BigBrother used it minimally when he was pre-verbal. LittleBrother started even earlier than BigBrother did and has a large signing vocabulary. Similarly, at sixteen months, he already has a large verbal vocabulary as well. Not all of that can be attributed to signing itself, of course. Mainly, he wants to be like BigBrother. He wanted to talk early. He wanted to roll, crawl, walk and run early. And now he wants to potty train early.

I’m okay with this!

A few months ago we received Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program Complete Starter Kit. I kept it in the box for awhile as he hadn’t shown any interest in the process at that point in time. And then, last month, he started saying the word potty. (Pah-ee! Pah-ee!) Whenever anyone would go into the bathroom, he would follow behind, talking about the potty. Then he started wanting to sit on the big potty. Then we bought him a little one. And while he hasn’t gone, he sits daily, talking about his male genitalia (pee-ahhs), pee, poop and pah-ee.

Color us shocked.

Book & Stickers So, I broke out the sign language program. I read the accompanying parent manual about why starting the training process in the 12 month to 24 month age range was a great idea. I agreed with most of what was said, having already potty trained one child. (I also know that being strict with your ideas regarding what will and will not work can set you up for failure.) The manual, however, does have many things that we agree with (especially since we potty trained BigBrother based on Elizabeth Pantley’s The No-Cry Potty Training Solution).

And then we started watching the DVD every few days. LittleBrother enjoys the real kids more than the animated babies. (He’s likely used to Signing Time videos.) We also regularly read the train book that came with the kit. (It’s a lift-the-flap book which are all hugely popular with LittleBrother right now.) While he has done nothing in the potty, we currently have a child who is not scared of the bathroom or the potty. He knows what goes on in the bathroom and the potty. He knows the appropriate signs (more, all done, potty, wash hands). And he regularly tells us when he needs a diaper change. (To boot, he also says “excuse me” (cue-me!) after he toots. Win.

I can’t tell you if he will officially train early or if he’ll be like his brother and train shortly after his second birthday. I can’t predict what will happen. I can tell you that this little kit, complete with reward stickers for when we start moving forward with this “potty train”, is a big help in our house. As BigBrother went through a phase where he was scared of the bathroom (no fault of our own as we didn’t push training), we’re hoping to avoid that with LittleBrother. Of course, having BigBrother around to show by example and encourage with words is a great training tool as well. I’d let you borrow him but, well, I like him very much.

Complete Starter Kit

I can, however, offer you this Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program Complete Starter Kit ($39.95)! That’s right! I have one to give away! It’s the exact same one we have which means that it includes:

1. Potty Training Made Easy, a Parent’s Guide.
2. All Aboard the Potty Train DVD
3. All Aboard the Potty Train lift-the-flap book.
4. Stickers!
5. All Aboard the Potty Train Conductor’s (wooden) Whistle (yes, noisy).

It can be yours! There are a few different ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me a funny story about potty training. Whether it’s your child, your sibling, your friend’s child or yourself. Make me giggle. Because a sense of humor is needed while potty training! (I remember that much!) You may leave a comment like this once.

2. Tweet about this contest, copy/pasting the following into your tweet stream: Enter the Potty Training Made Easy giveaway over @FireMom’s blog: http://tinyurl.com/SDBptsigns Kit includes book, DVD, stickers & whistle! After you tweet, grab the URL to the individual tweet and paste it in a separate comment here. You may do this once a day for the duration of the giveaway!

3. Blog about the giveaway on your blog, linking back to this post and the Potty Training Made Easy website! Make your post about another funny story regarding potty training, fears about the process or what your plans are thus far. Come back and leave the link to your blog post in a separate comment. You may do this once.

The giveaway will be open through Monday, April 13, 2009 at noon (EDT). I will close comments and pick a winner via the random number generator at random.org. I will then contact the winner by email. The winner has 24 hours to respond before I move on to the next random winner. Winnings will be shipped the following day after claim with delivery confirmation and insurance. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best of luck… in the giveaway and with potty training! (And if this giveaway doesn’t apply to you, please feel free to pass it on to your friends with children who may or may not be potty training sometime soon!)

Communicating with a Thirteen Month Old

Parenting 95 Responses »

Dec 292008

I’ve been receiving comments from people about something that I don’t usually give a second thought to until, well, I’m questioned. On another site, I was discussing how LittleBrother now signs to us when he wants to eat a snack or when he wants to go to sleep. Someone who didn’t know me or about my boys asked the logical question: is LittleBrother deaf? No, he’s not. But we learned, a little later with BigBrother, that teaching young toddlers signs really helps with the frustration level.

We didn’t start until BigBrother was about a year old and we didn’t ever include a whole lot of sign. He learned milk, bath, more and a few others and that was enough for us to notice the benefits. When LittleBrother was about six months old, I decided we would take it one step further and include Signing Time DVDs in our teaching. This has been the second best parenting decision I have made thus far. (Right behind babywearing because I’d still get nothing done or be able to go anywhere without babywearing sometimes!)

I bought Signing Time! Volume 1 and started playing it once a day (or so) when LittleBrother was about seven months old. To say that he caught on quickly is an understatement. I soon ordered Signing Time! Volume 2 and he learned even more. As of now, with Volume 3 having just joined our collection on Christmas Day, he comprehends nearly 30 signs. He can actively sign 12-15.

I know some people wonder why teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to a hearing child serves any purpose. I’ll simply quote Signing Time’s FAQ’s and then expand on it with our personal story.

Most children are not developmentally ready to speak until approximately 2 years of age. Babies are developmentally able to communicate with signs much earlier than that. Some studies indicate children as young as 5 to 6 months of age can communicate with limited signs. The inability to communicate can cause frustration and tantrums for both the parent and the child! Sign language is a wonderful tool that allows even very small children to express themselves. Most parents that sign with their babies talk about an unexplainable bond that is felt when their child communicates so early!

The Fire Family has found this to be true. LittleBrother absolutely grins from ear to ear when he tells us something and we understand. Sometimes he even claps when we simply “get” what he is trying to communicate. It’s adorable. It’s also helpful. I normally serve morning snack around ten in the morning. On days when someone forces us to start our day early, it is nice that LittleBrother can tell me that he wants to eat. What’s more helpful is the sleep sign. While we have a rather predictable schedule, it’s nice to know when LittleBrother has simply had enough of being awake and is ready to start winding down. It is also a clue, if it is over an hour before bed, that he needs some extra cuddles and time or meltdowns will occur.

It is, of course, rather hard to capture signs on video as I’m usually in the middle of actively communicating with him when he signs. If you ask him to sign something that he doesn’t want at the time, he looks at you like you have two heads. You know, like when you try to get your three year old to sing the ABC’s for their grandmother and they look at you like, “Why would I want to do that now?” And then you look like you’re lying to impress your relatives. Yes. It’s kind of like that. But, trust us, LittleBrother is a great signer. Anyone who has spent any time with him in the past month or two has witnessed it, communicated with him and, in essence, learned from a thirteen month old.

As an added bonus, since adding the DVDs to our library, BigBrother has also relearned his previous signs and added new ones as well. Not only is he improving his own vocabulary but he acts as a translator when others don’t know what LittleBrother is trying to sign. It’s really quite adorable.

See for yourself.

We love Rachel Coleman and her Signing Time products. Yes, we could just as easily teach the signs ourselves, I suppose. But if you get Signing Time, Volume 3 and watch the Silly Pizza Song, my guess is that you won’t be able to master that in one passing. (Heck, I can only, seven months later, say that I’ve just barely mastered the whole Signing Time credit song.) To boot, Rachel has a blog and, most recently, a twitter account.

As I’m still in the spirit of giving, I’d like to give one lucky reader a choice of Signing Time Volume 1, 2 or 3. (I’m only offering up one of those three as I can personally vouch that they’re awesome.) You choose and I’ll have it shipped directly from Amazon to the address of your choosing. (So, grandmas can have it sent directly to grandchildren and what not!)

How to enter?

1. Leave a comment about who would be benefiting from winning (your child, grandchild, someone somewhere) and why you think that child/person could benefit from this DVD. Also state whether you would choose Volume 1, 2 or 3. (You can change your mind if you win and pick a different volume. I’m easy.) One comment only for this step.

2. Post a tweet on your twitter account! Use this URL ( http://tinyurl.com/SDBsigns ). Also, please use the hashtag: #SDBSigns when making a tweet. (While not necessary, feel free to follow me. I’m FireMom!) You may tweet once per day and come back and post an individual comment (don’t post your tweets in the option/comment #1) for each separate tweet (one per day).

That’s all this time. Again I will have a spreadsheet with all of the entries and pick via random.org. I will leave the giveaway open through January 5th at noon. At that time, I will close comments, eat my lunch and contact the winner via email. The winner will have 12 hours to respond or I’ll move on to the next random winner. Once we have a confirmed winner, I will announce it on the blog. Winner’s choice of Volume 1, 2 or 3 will be shipped direct from Amazon with two day (Prime!) shipping. Tracking number will be passed along so the winner can track it.

Even if you don’t win, I recommend either buying one of the Signing Time products or checking to see if your library system carries any of them. (Ours does! That’s how I first decided to make the purchase. It’s always good to check something out first. I know!)