book review:: "Baby Signing"

Baby Signing 123
by Nancy Cadjan

Several years ago I knew a young mother who taught her infant son sign language. Not fluent conversational signing, but a few signs so that they could communicate together. By about 8 months old, he could ask for "More, please!", say "Thank you" and so on.

I never gave signing much thought until pondering the various ways to communicate with my own soon-coming child. Then it became an interesting subject.

After browsing a number of websites and perusing the shelves of Borders Books, I settled on Baby Signing 123.

Nancy Cadjan, creator of Sign Babies ASL Flash Cards, writes about the benefits of signing with your baby, as well as giving clear and simple drawings of nearly 300 signs and their uses. For instance, did you know:

• speech abilities for children who signed as babies far exceed those of non-signing babies, both in grammatical/sentence structure and vocabulary
• IQs of signing children average significantly higher than those who didn't sign, as late as the age of 8
• signing children tend to naturally speak and read earlier than non-signing children
• babies who sign show the same kind of increased brain activity as children who grow up bilingual from infancy
• teaching your baby to sign can help to alleviate frustration as they enter toddlerhood because they can communicate basic thoughts/questions/desires before they can even speak
  

Cadjan also describes how to introduce signing at different ages, and illustrates gentle interactive ways to increase communication with baby. She tells lots of stories about families who used signing in a wide variety of ways, to help the reader get a clear picture of how signing might fit into their family.

Granted, this review is based on my pre-parenting impressions of course, and I'm sure that I'll want to add post-reviews based on my experience using the actual information. But for the sake of information, I loved the book. Whether or not I can recommend it remains to be seen until I've put some of the information into practice. But I'll keep you posted.

Have any of you signed with your babies? How did it go? Do tell...

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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new books - yay!

So, like any good parents-to-be, we've been doing lots of pre-baby reading. I'm glad to have a husband who's willing to read right along with me so that we're both well-informed. Our current reading list includes:



Baby Signing 123, by Nancy Cadjan (I'm working through this one - great stuff!)












On Becoming BabyWise, by Gary Ezzo & Robert Bucknam (finished it, Hubby's currently halfway through)










And just today, our next list arrived in the mail:


Boys Should be Boys, by Meg Meeker











That's My Son: How Mom's Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character, by Rick Johnson (Sorry, couldn't find a photos of this one, but it looks fascinating...)

Got a few more coming... but haven't arrived yet.

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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book review: RAISING A MODERN-DAY KNIGHT

RAISING A MODERN-DAY KNIGHT: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood
by Robert Lewis

This book begins by establishing the dismal reality of masculinity in today's Western society. Lewis describes the aching void in the hearts of men who grew up without fathers, without guidance into manhood, and who were left to navigate the world's expectations of them without support or encouragement from wise older men.

He explains the deep core need that every boy has to be recognized and validated by his father, and how fathers often curse their sons with lifetime fears by withholding from them a working definition of masculinity. Boys are longing to know: what does a man look like? how does a man act? when do I become a man? will I know when I am no longer a boy? how?

And our society has no structures to provide answers to these questions. Other, often more primitive, societies have initiation rites, coming of age celebrations, even brutal rituals that mark a boy's passage into manhood. From that day on he knows that he must act like a man, that he is no longer a child. But our culture boasts none of these.

Lewis delves into history to explore the medieval age of knighthood and compares the process of training for knighthood to a possible answer for this manhood vacuum. Being a knight provided a man with three things:

1. a vision for manhood
2. a code of conduct
3. a transcendant cause.

Lewis asserts that every boy and man today desperately need the same three things, if they are to fully blossom in their masculinity. He contrasts the way that Adam in the Garden of Eden rejected his vision, violated God's code of conduct, and shrank away from his cause - with the way that Jesus Christ, the biblical 2nd Adam, fulfilled all three.

Then Lewis outlines the vital importance of using ceremony to mark milestones in a young boy's life as he progresses through the stages of boyhood toward becoming a man, until a final ceremony where the respect of fellow manhood is bestowed on him by his father and other mature men in his life.

Filled with stories, illustrations, scriptural foundation, and practical ideas for ceremonies and celebrations - Raising a Modern-Day Knight is a must-read for any parent with a son.

We're handing it to my dad next, as the only living grandfather that Munchkin will know. He's promised to read it, so that he can join Hubby in a united effort to present concepts of manhood once Munchkin arrives. After that, we're planning to pass it to my sister's husband - as the only Uncle in the family so far - so that he can join in the community of men surrounding Munchkin's arrival.

While Lewis makes many profound statements throughout the book, two stood out to me with incredible clarity:

1. "Real manhood in a son never comes by accident." (p 156)
2. "The Decree proclaims an immovable standard that each generation must never forget: Only the sons of knights become knights!" (p 162)
   

Thank you God, for letting me marry a man who has discovered his own Knighthood!

If you've got a son - I hope you go get this book! You won't regret it.

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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when it comes to raising a son...

I was raised in a family of 2 girls. My mom was raised in a family of 10 girls. (No, that's not a typo.) The idea of raising a daughter felt natural. Not that I didn't want a boy (I kind of secretly did), but just that I couldn't picture myself as the mother of a son. At the same time, I had this strong feeling that this baby was male.

Oddly, when the ultrasound confirmed quite clearly that "IT'S A BOY!", I was thrilled. As an oldest child, I'd always longed for an older brother. Hubby, of course, could hardly keep the volume down as he danced around the doctor's office, "I'm gonna have a son! I'm gonna have a son!" Romanian culture places an almost biblical value on starting a family with a son. The nurses just watched him and chuckled at his glee.

Then I started thinking in earnest about the actual process of raising a son in today's world. You see, we don't just want to raise a nice boy. We want to create a family atmosphere that will encourage Munchkin to be a man of God. A leader. A strong and masculine individual who knows his calling and isn't terrified of his place in the world. A Moses, or a Joseph, or an Elijah.

We chose his name after months of sorting through lists of origins and meanings. We wanted him to know from the start that he is a son of God, with a beautiful life purpose. (Something far more important than making his momma downright miserable for 9 months straight before he was born!)

We know so many wonderful families raising beautiful daughters to love Jesus. Only a few of them have sons, too. There is such a vacuum of godly men in today's Western society that it's daunting to think about raising boys into Christian manhood. Scary, even.

So my first book review (see next post) is going to be on our latest read. It has taken the ideas we already had and crystallized them into something tangible. Can't wait to share it with you!

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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on reading and discovery...

A few weeks ago I was browsing amazon.com for something - can't remember what - and ran across a list of parenting books that caught my eye.

In our desire to spend the months of pregnancy in purposeful preparation for Munchkin's arrival, Hubby and I had already sat down and read together through Adventist Home, and Child Guidance, (both by the author Ellen White and I highly recommend them). I'll add book reviews on those two later.

But it was time for a new booklist to keep us reading and talking. I'm fortunate to have married a man who actually is capable and willing (most of the time) to communicate articulately about feelings, thoughts, and family plans. It's an incredible blessing that I know many women long for, and I don't take it lightly.

We don't want to be accidental parents. The kind who just bumble through family life with no purpose or plan. (Read this post for the Family Vision we created 2 years ago at a Family Vision Planning Workshop.)

That doesn't mean we aren't aware that no parent is perfect. We are destined to make mistakes. Guaranteed. But we'd like to think that there's some chance we can limit our mistakes to those rooted in good intentions rather than idiocy.

So we do a lot of reading together. And we talk about it, formulating concepts and ideas and plans in (attempted) unity.

Hence, the upcoming book reviews. If you've read these books, too - tell me what you thought of them. If you go and buy a book because of one of my reviews, I'd love to know your reaction.

And no, I don't get commissions from Amazon.com. (Although, hmmm, I wonder if that's possible?)

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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