The Signing Aunt

My sister is a fantastic aunt.  She treats my children like they are her own (only without getting them in trouble as much as I do).  She showers them with attention, playtime, crafting, and hugs.  It’s obvious how much she adores Jackson and Lily to anyone that sees her with them or hears her speak about them.

I don’t say this solely to make her feel guilty about her reluctance to write a blog post for me but if it’s a byproduct of my being openly mooshy, so be it.

Anyway, I will tell her story.

My sister attends Toastmasters and her speech this week was about my kids and sign language.  I wasn’t there to hear her talk but she’s a great public speaker and speech writer so I can only imagine how well it went.

Jackson and Lily haven’t signed very much for about two years now. We all sign ‘I love you’ regularly but other than that it’s really only the odd ‘please’, ‘thank you’ or ‘sorry’.  It’s more common to find me signing to them across a busy playground to get the message across that I’m watching.

Even with the lack of signing for a couple of years, the experience was important enough to my sister that she wanted to write one of her speeches about it.  She even remembered quite a few signs that she showcased on stage.

People often ask me whether it’s worth it to sign with their kids, some having family and friends who aren’t keen on the idea and may not participate.  With her speech, my sister reinforced the advice I’ve always given:  people will be hardpressed not to smile or sign with baby once they see a wee one communicate using sign language.  So, go ahead, try it.  Even if no one else participates, you’ve still been able to see the world through your baby’s hands and that is something special.  And, it will become just as special to friends and family.