Signs of the Times
by Angie Tan
Saturday, April 11, 2009
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: When Jamie Solomon had her first child, she wanted a home-based job to be able to spend more time with her son, Shawn. But leaving a steady career after working in the corporate world for about seven years seemed a bit daunting. She knew she needed to be more than just a stay-home mum.
Eight months later, she discovered the Baby Signs Program in the United States, which allowed her to communicate with her toddler through "baby sign language" using simple and easy-to-do gestures.
“The experience of signing with Shawn was so rewarding I wanted to share it with other parents. I found the programme to be attractive, plus no one was doing it in Malaysia,” said Solomon. She eventually started Baby Signs Malaysia in mid-2007.
The soft-spoken mum did everything herself from the website design to teaching signing classes. She is also the first International Independent Certified Instructor for the Baby Signs Program in Malaysia.
By 2008, she incorporated Baby Signs Malaysia Sdn Bhd, of which she is the director. Currently, the 33-year-old has four certified instructors in Klang Valley and another in Kota Kinabalu.
“All of our instructors have signed or are signing with their young ones at home," she said.
Solomon admits that competition is stiff as there are so many different classes and programmes a parent can send their child to: “Parents today are spoilt for choice, but having said that, they are also more receptive,” she said, explaining that it was the older generation that found it tough to accept signing.
“For some, it’s pantang (taboo). Why would you want to teach your child sign language when they do not have a hearing impairment?" Changing people’s perception towards signing, she added, was one of the challenges.
“Signing actually makes it easier to teach your child. For example, in a family where your maid speaks Malay, the grandparents converse in their own mother tongue and the parents speak English, signing breaches the language barrier.
“The best time to teach your toddlers to sign is when they are a newborn to two and a half years old,” said Solomon, who started signing with Shawn when he was eight months old. “It is best to start as early as possible but having said that, toddlers cannot sign at such an early age as their motor skills have not fully developed.”
Today, at three and a half years old, Shawn has forgotten most of the signs he learnt, but is eager to pick it up again because his little brother, 10-month old Robin, has started signing.
According to Solomon, Shawn looks at it as a game but overall, siblings are a good influence.
“Your child has to understand first, so you need to be more patient. Starting early gives parents the time for practice. It’s something that you need to get used to. When will you see results? I can’t say for sure. The earliest is when the child is seven months and even if the toddler starts at 12 months old, it’s also normal.”
What about fears that a toddler might rely solely on signing instead of learning how to talk?
“On the contrary," Solomon said. "Using signs actually makes it easier for babies to learn how to talk. Signing exposes them both to talking and signing. When you sign to your child, you are also talking at the same time. Some toddlers are more visual, they learn faster that way. Eventually, you won’t need to wean your child off signing. It’s a natural progression. In my case, Shawn dropped a lot of his signs in order to talk when he was around 18 months old.” Kids, she said, do want to communicate with their parents and when they can’t, they can get frustrated and even aggressive: "They just want to be able to express themselves.”
Solomon conducts classes such as the Sign, Say & Play class and workshops, such as the Potty Party to help train up both parents and children. The class takes place for six weeks and lasts about 45 minutes per session. It may seem short to an adult, but children have have shorter attention spans.
I sat in one of the classes, which happened to be all about "The Zoo". Solomon not only signed, she told stories and sang ditties about animals one might find in zoos. She also brought along toys to represent each animal.
Concept items (basically the toys and the puppets) were important as they helped the child to relate with what was being signed and said. “Our classes are a great way to introduce the signs. It makes it fun for the child, but it is more for parents to help them in their parenting role,” she said.
“It is for them to learn the signs, the activities and songs so they can teach their child. The real teacher here is the parent as repetition is important. From the child’s point of view, it is like a play class and the interaction helps them improve their motor skills,” she added.
I managed to catch up with first-time parents at the workshop Chubby Lee and his wife, Nanthana Chalermsuwan. The Lees were there with their one-year-old toddler, Chiramate Lee Ming Tim.
“We did our own research and found out that children consume the most during the first two years of their life," Lee said. "So we started scouting to look for a suitable educational programme. My kid actually likes to play with other children but how often can I bring him to see his cousins? So, one of the requirements in looking for a programme was one that would allow my kid to interact with other children. “Plus, Baby Signs was basic enough for my kid and was more like play time for him. He has started signing to us and although he may have picked up just three or four signs out of the Baby Sign's 100, it is a good start. We teach him our own signs too.
“When he first signed to us, it was very emotional. We got goose bumps and it was just exciting to see him learn something new,” added Lee.
The six-week class costs RM500, of which RM275 is for the learning kit. Baby Signs Malaysia also conducts out other fun and free activities such as story telling sessions at bookstores around town.
To find out more about the demo workshops, classes and other activities, check out Baby Signs Malaysia at www.babysignsmalaysia.com.
