So I’ve been trying really hard to stick to an exercise program and eating healthy. I think the whole summer was one big party for me as far as food goes. We had vacation after vacation… which meant I pretty much ate anything and everything I could think of. I started to feel so gross, my body was achy and I was tired all the time.
That’s pretty bad for me because I’m one of those “weird” natural foods type people. I don’t buy sugar, butter, white flour, cheese, any processed foods… you get the picture. I don’t even own a microwave because I’m a lot less likely to eat junky food that’s quick and easy to cook if I can’t just pop it in the microwave. Anyway, I’m telling you that so that you’ll understand how disgusting I was this summer. For instance, the night I ate a half gallon of moose tracks ice cream with two additional Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups crunched up in it and an additional squirt of the chocolate shell stuff on top. I don’t even want to think about how many calories that was. Or there was the time that we went to the movies and I ate 3 big boxes of different kinds of candies;licorice, Swedish fish, and Reece’s pieces. I think it’s safe to say I have a sweet tooth! I’m one of those people that I have to finish the whole thing too. So if I take too much in the first place, I’ll pack it all in until it’s gone. I love the I’m so full I can’t breath feeling, gross, I know.
Okay I’m done blabbering, I just wanted to accurately convey how far I had “fallen”. So as an update, I’m eating awsome and I’ve excersized everyday for the past two weeks. I’ve already lost 5 lbs, which is great, because soon I’ll be able to graduate from my sweat pants (which are currently the only things that fit me).
If anyone is in the same boat as me, I hope that we can motivate each other and reach our goals. Good luck and I’ll keep you updated.
Sorry to anyone who has tried to purchase from signing4baby.com recently. We had a minor glitch in our program. We have fixed the problem and everything is up and running. Thanks for being patient, you can now place your orders.
I have to honestly say that being self employed is crazy! I love teaching sign language and interacting with parents and children, but owning a business is a whole different story. I feel like an idiot most of the time, I’m like a new baby just figuring out how to make my hands do what I want them to. For instance, we have an affiliate program that people get paid commission on each sale. I just received an email notifying me that one of my affiliates hadn’t been paid. I felt so bad, so I did some investigating, and come to find out, none of the affiliates had gotten paid! I wanted to cry. What happened was that I’d been paying fees to the company managing our affiliates, which I thought in turn had a payment system in place to disperse the money automatically each month. Boy was I wrong, now I know that I have to manually go in and pay the affiliates through pay pal. What a major mistake, but don’t worry everybody’s getting their money now.
For the most part people have been very understanding and nice about any mix ups that we’ve dealt with. Which honestly makes me so thankful to the patient and generous people I’ve been in contact with. So, I’m writing this post to explain to anyone that might have been involved with any of our “just getting started” crazyness. I’m excited to say that most of the cinks have been worked out and I’m figuring out how to solve problems fast.
Thanks again to all of you who have supported this site!
Everybody told me that it gets harder to get back into shape with each kid you have, and they weren’t lying. I don’t know if it’s just because my body has gone through so much or if it’s lack of time and motivation. Now that I have three kids, I definately don’t have as much time for myself as I used to. And by the time they go to bed all I want to do is sleep. Too bad I’m still nursing every 2 hours at night!
Well, because it’s been so hard for me to get motivated, I thought I would announce publicly that I am going to set a goal to loose 15 pounds in 8 weeks. I hope I’m not being too optimistic, but I’m sick of feeling out of shape. So, I’ll keep you all updated on my progress… I’m going to have to push it.
If anyone has any great suggestions on what they’ve done, I’d love to hear it. Or if you just want to cheer me on I wont mind that either. signing4baby@hotmail.com
I’ve been reading your blog and visiting your website. I also sign with my daughter. The early benefits have been amazing! Besides all the typically mentioned early communication skills, sign language is helping her to start early reading and spelling skills (she’s 27 months old). But I’ve been wondering, when do the benefits of learning sign language “wear off”? Is there an age where it all seems to even out between signing babies and non-signers? I’ve read Acredolo’s study about the increased IQ points, but I’ve also read that early advances seem to even out by 3 years old and another that says they even out by 3rd grade.Hmmm…What’s with the fascination with 3?
Holly Miller http://hollytriedit.blogspot.com/search/label/sign%20language
Answer:
Thanks for emailing me, I love talking about sign language. As far as any research that I’ve read about child development advances in connection with using sign language, I have only seen studies that are documented up to the age of 8, like you said. I’m not aware of any other studies that have tracked a group of children past that point.
If you want my personal opinion though, I think that there are so many other benefits connected with using sign language as a child that last a life time. Besides the academic benefits of early reading skills, spelling advancements, language development, and enhanced verbal abilities, etc… I feel that signing with children allows for them to develop abilities that aren’t typically documented by research. For instance, the ability for the child to connect in unique ways with others and build greater self esteem, increasing memory storage and problem solving abilities, learning to communicate and problem solve in multiple ways (visual, audio, and sensory), and learning a second recognized language, etc…
So to answer the question, when does it “wear off”, I honestly don’t think it does. No matter what, children that use sign language are being exposed to a unique and special way of communicating that I feel gives them the “upper hand” in child development.
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Sometimes when I talk to parents about using baby sign language with their children they are hesitant to “add another thing” to their busy schedule. The amazing thing about using American sign language with your child is that it’s incredibly easy.
When I teach my baby sign language class we start out by showing a few pictures and have the class play a little game of cherades. They can’t use any words or sounds, only gestures. Out of a stack of about 20 pictures the class is pleasantly surprised after the game. The reason: generally the students without knowing the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for the picture end up using the correct gesture for that sign.
American Sign Language is a visual language the comes naturally to many people, especially babies. Before your child can talk and without any encouragement from their parents, babies will almost always use gestures to communicate. Children will reach or point at objects they want, bang their hands on the table to get a reaction, and even shake their heads in objection to something, etc, etc…
For those parents that feel it would be too difficult to add “another thing” to the routine, l’ll let you in on a little secret. Using sign language with your child is easy and in the long run you will be thanking me for helping you avoid frustration and tantrums. Your child’s ability to use sign language will amaze you, it’s almost 2nd nature. And you’ll find yourself using the signs without even thinking twice about them after a few days.
I promise, you wont feel like you have to find the time to sign, you’ll be looking for opportunities to use them.
Have you guys ever heard of modbe? It’s a modest clothing line that I love. I have a 5 year old girl, and it’s already getting hard to find clothes that are cute, but modest. I’ve bought widestrape tanks, that are perfect for undershirts, but they are incredibly comfortable and I honestly wear them under just about every shirt I own. I also got my swimming suit there, and I can’t tell you how many people ask me where I got it.
The person I buy mobde from is named Beverly Jones, she’s doing a contest to give away a little girls mini vee shirt, so if you’re interested you can check out her blog at www.modbefashion.blogspot.com
I just started using sign language with Ben my 10 week old. I know that it’s going to be a long time before he signs back to me, but speaking from experience I know that he will start to understand very soon. With my other children I started to sign to them early on. Some parents get disapointed our frustrated when their child doesn’t sign to them right away, but you have to realize that your infants motor skills aren’t up to speed. Most children can cognitively understand what you are saying long before they are physically able to respond back to you. They typically have a harder time physically forming words verbally than using signs.
My philosophy on how many signs are when do you add them is that it depends mainly on the parent. If you are certain that you can be consistant and use the sign language on a regular basis, then I think it’s fine to use as many signs as you want. I believe that the child will be able to understand what you are communicating, even if they can’t respond to you yet.
As a hearing parent we don’t with hold some of the words we verbally speak to our children just because they can’t speak to us yet, so why would we be hesitant to avoid additional signs just becasue our baby can’t sign back?
Deaf parents of hearing children don’t with hold any signs with their children in infancy, and what do you know, the children understand completely what their parents are saying. So in summary, I feel that if the parent is willing and able to maintain using the signs consistantly, then by all means add on!