My two year old is learning sign language, which I think is great. I was worried in the beginning because he has been speaking complete sentences since he was just a little over one and I don't want his vocabulary to change or slow down. He is so good at learning it though. The daycare teacher said he is the best at retaining it. But I have a one year old daughter and I don't want her to use sign language and not increase her vocabulary. Am I just overreacting? or should I be concerned?
Yes Jo Jo what a doctor considers sentences. I do it. I want it. You do it. You get it. I wasn't implying he was a baby genius. I just meant sentences that two year olds speak.
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Sign language is great! It would be awesome if your 1 year old learned it, too. Learning to sign will not slow down their vocabulary or vocal language, it will just reinforce it. It's like how they say people learn things in different ways. Some people learn by listening, and some people learn by writing things over and over, and some people learn by doing actions. So, when you are in school, you learn math by using blocks, and then using paper and pencil, and reciting the times tables out loud – those are all different ways of retaining the information.
So, by learning sign language and saying the words out loud at the same time (like my daughter points her finger in her other palm and says "more…more") they are just learning different ways of communicating. I think it's great!
Sometimes I can't figure out what's she's saying, but if she makes a hand motion, I can figure it out (she is 1 1/2).