An orgmate in college posted in social media about teaching
her little one how to sign. I was mildly interested but did not think it was
essential. But when my baby was around 5 months old, just before she started on
solids, we taught her how to sign. Simple ones like “GATAS” , “NANAY” and
“TATAY” (we translate signs into Filipino since that's what we speak at home) . Then we proceeded with “KAIN” , “INOM” , “SAKIT" , "TULONG", and “MORE”. These were
words we deem necessary, because she cannot talk yet and sometimes we cannot
decipher her cries. We always accompany
the signs with the words and surprise, surprise—her first official word was a
word she loves to sign as well: “MORE”.
During mealtimes, it was always easy to coax her into finishing her food
when we sign and sing the MORE song (put your fingertips together to sign "MORE").
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| Baby signing "More" |
Of course parents need to learn the signs first. We watched
Baby Signing Time (recommended by a friend) over and over again. My baby liked the
songs and I found myself memorizing them. She loved Here I Go of Volume 1. After exhausting the 1st
two episodes, we looked for more songs online and I was pleased to find not
just songs about friendship but also about inclusiveness and differences. Just watch Caterpillar Dreams and Nice to Meet You of Signing Time! and you'll know what I mean (WARNING: the first one can draw tears). The show became her favorite until My Neighbour
Totoro, Pocoyo and Song of the Sea.
We also found this pop-up book from Booksale (I think this is also available at Fully Booked for a few hundreds).
We also found this pop-up book from Booksale (I think this is also available at Fully Booked for a few hundreds).
When she was stringing words into sentences, signing seemed
unnecessary so we stopped watching (and signing). But sometimes, I still find
myself signing “WIWI”, "PLEASE", “SORRY” or “SALAMAT”. Nowadays, our little girl is so
adept at expressing herself, I sometimes forget she used to just cry when she
was hungry, cold, sad, angry or thirsty. And then I remember that at least for a
year, we need not guess what she needed because she learned how to sign
them. I will always be grateful for that.
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| Baby signing her name (invented signing) |
