I successfully taught my 5th baby to read.  We began in infancy using baby reading DVDs, homemade flash cards and books, and lots of games.  I loved teaching him and he loved learning.  It was a regular part of our day.  We worked our program around regular activities making it a simple, easy and enjoyable experience for both of us.  It was a fantastic day when he read his first word out loud at 12 months old.  He moved on to sentences at 18 months and by 2 years old he was reading books.  Today he is 5 years old and can read at a 5th or 6th grade level.  He has always been reading and cannot remember a time when he did not know how to read.  I did try to learn a little sign language to teach him, but we never got very far.  Reading was definitely our focus.

Fast forward a few years and now I had baby number 6.  I came across the Signing Time DVDs and I loved them instantly.  There was a sign language explosion in our house.  All 6 of my children were learning and enjoying it.  I do love sign language and my children did as well.  While this was fun, it took away from the amount of time we spent teaching her to read.  This distraction has not allowed her to read on the same level as my son.  The difference in their reading abilities is quite drastic.  She is reading many words and can sound out some new words.  She is definitely progressing in her reading skills and I am confident that before she is 5 years old she will be reading very well.

However, this has caused me to ask myself, "Which skill should I have placed more emphasis on?  Should I have taught her sign language or should we have just focused on reading?"

I have come to the conclusion that we should have done a minimal amount of signing and devoted that same time to teaching our baby to read.  We still do use sign language in our home, but not nearly as much reading.  I think if you weigh it out on a scale teaching your baby to read far outweighs teaching your baby to sign.

Are you teaching your baby to sign?  What are your thoughts?

Find out how I taught my baby to read before the age of 2 in 5 Simple Steps in A Guide to Teaching Babies to Read. 

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