I love NPR, (National Public Radio.) I listen to the podcasts while I work out. During my walking and running on the treadmill - trying not to let a middle age belly develop, I get caught up on all my news and bits of entertainment gossip. Every morning Quirks and Quarks, The Unger Report and E-mailed Story of the Day are just a few of the stories that I listen to over my earphones.

Just this morning I was getting caught up and heard a story NPR did last week on Sign Language - ASL - and early childhood development.

Since I taught K sign language at nine months, I was interested to hear this has gone a bit mainstream. Everybody is doing it, and it has become a growth industry, and is taught in some pre-schools and as a second language.

I wrote about her early language skills in my post - K and the Catfish - and the NPR report found all the same benefits to children as I did.

One benefit that often isn’t addressed is the bonding payoff. I found that I was able to communicate with K when she was across the room - in her high chair - or crawling on the floor - and it kept a bit of intimacy between us.


I highly urge you to go listen to the report, and read my blog posts, and try it for yourself. As far as I can tell there are NO downfalls, only wonderful benefits to help children. And for those of us who foster - adopt, it can help the kids adjust more quickly, and in many cases, help them get caught up developmentally.

From the NPR website: Parents of pre-verbal toddlers are finding a new communication tool: Sign language. With some studies showing improved literacy as a result, teaching babies and toddlers how to sign has become a growth industry......listen to more here.....

Photo is NPR Logo from their website. www.NPR.org