Baby Sign Language?

Question

I have just started gettiny new business together for Baby Sign Language with "Signing Smart with Infants and Toddlers". Have you heard of it? How likely are you to participate and at what prices are you willing to pay?

National study of Signing Smart children:
At 12 months old, Signing Smart children have an average of 25 signs and 16 spoken words, versus non-signers’ 2-3 spoken words
At 18 months old, Signing Smart children have an average of 79 signs and 105 spoken words, versus non-signers’ 10-50 spoken words
Between 11-14 months old, a majority of Signing Smart children begin using signed/spoken “sentences,” about 10 mos. earlier than is typical

Answer 1

Yeah, I heard of that. I saw it on some news program. I would love to try that, when I have a kid one day (we're trying now). It was amazing to see the little babies signing "more" and other things. It have to be a reasonably low price for me. Maybe $10 a day. That would add up. But that's just a stab in the park to try to help you out. I would possibly pay more.

Answer 2

I've had two friends who have taught sign to their babies with very mixed results. One friend has seen their child completely rely on the signing and refuse to learn to speak. My other friend had one child do the same and the other dropped the signing as soon as he could find his words.

Honestly, I have heard more stories from other parents who have regreted teaching the signing before their children could speak than the other way. They said they would wait until their kids were 6 or 7 before doing it.

After watching all three kids first hand, I would agree with them. It looks like it is either used as a crutch or forgotten.

The question I would ask - who is getting the most out of teaching these babies sign language? I don't think it is the child. I think it is a fad that mom's want to do because it is cool for the moment.

From a business perspective, a fad isn't the best business to get into. It is fickle and you will spend a lot of money and may not recoup it. Think about your break-even point. It might be 3-5 years out and the fad could be over by then.

Pick something more secure and long-lasting.

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The problem with the statistics the Signing Smart people give out is that they lack one important element... a mother spends an enormous amount of time and effort with the child teaching and repeating sign. If they spent an equal amount of time and effort teaching and repeating the spoken language, what would the results be?

If you split your time between many things, you cannot focus or excel in one thing.

That is why most educational experts agree that if you want to teach a child a second language, you first teach them the native language and then add to it with other languages.

Answer 3

Not interested, as our son is now five.
But you've got a bead on a good business...we used sign with our boy when he was an infant and it was an excellent way to communicate.
Good luck to you!