Signing Babies

Such a great short documentary...I am so glad to have seen it. Very well put together, the interviews, b-roll and music flow really nicley. I've seen books about the benefits of signing for infants/babies and it seems like a wonderful skill to incorporate as well as a bonding experience for the child & parent. Thanks for doing it! ~MBS~

This is a wondeful piece and I so happy you got it to air. I have to personally thank you for commenting on the piece by Jengo - it was about me and my mother. The issue is obviously very important to me as it this wonderful piece and I humbly ask that if you can encourage those that you know on the current circuit to check ou the Caregiver's rant I would be eternally grateful. I really would like this to air in order to open up some very sealed doors for my mother and for future mothers and fathers that might - god forbid find themselves helpless. I just wanted to personally thank you again. Jen was incredible donating her time and equipment but I really am appreciating all the support and advice and feedback. I would hope to have more coming. If you could help in that effort...well...I think I have said more than enough. Thank you.

Hey boo3gie, I saw an earlier version of this piece, i recall it mentioning the bilingual aspect of the family earler and something more on the debate on the benefits of baby signing, but you've managed to trim it and still keep the essence of what's imformative and interesting. Great pod. I'm curious to know what you think of mine; link

Congrats on making it to air!

very nice video, well done.

Excellent piece. Subject matter, shooting, editing, voice over. My kids learned signing very early. Their Grandma is deaf, and now my three year old boy can communicate with her better than most adults.

Love the content. I have a 10 month old and am amazed at her learning ability. Overall just a well made doc. Thanks for a great pod!

Interesting. Nice tight editing. GL

Had to give this a greenlight - it's a timely subject and though 4 and a half minutes, it kept my interest. In regards to the Good People comment - I greenlit the original "Baby Sign" by Go Pictures, and though it looked sharper, this Baby Sign Language pod is more thorough and informative.

Overall, I love the family pods. Wish there were more in the studio - if you're a fan of such pods, check out "Flying Baby" (prichard1/GO Pictures). It's a cool look at a mom and her baby on a cross-country flight.

link

Nice job boo3gie.

BS

I've always wished that I'd been exposed to more languages as an infant so that now, in my twenties, I could travel to spain or Japan, or Africa and communicate with people from other cultures with out the barrier or translation. This piece of course is something different, it's about communicating even earlier which I find interesting as well.
greenlight.

Holy crap! This is cool. I was acually wandering if signing did interfere with real talking as i was wacthing it and hey,you tackled...its green to me.

enter your post herelink

SL, GO Pictures

great to see you vid doing so well
Love it keep in touch
Cheers Cone

Whaysouth makes an important point about deaf children and language development, but that is a whole different topic - perhaps for another video. No 4 minute video can address every aspect of one topic or question much less an entirely different (although related) topic or question. The fact that this video does not address societal oppression of the deaf community certainly should not affect whether or not it is aired.

The video is great in that it shows that articulation for language on the hands is available much earlier than in the oral cavity...that much I agree with, but the video should not be greenlighted because it doesn't explore the converse issue and that has to do with language in actual deaf children for whom it has evolved. In this country, oralism and vocal speech is what is pounded down vulnerable deaf youth thus engaging them for the rests of their lives with something useless and baseless. Many times, unknowing hearing parents are sucked into this hegemony of an auditory pathological industry and are told to never sign with their deaf offspring because this will hinder their later development of speech...when this is not the case. After viewing this video the question comes to mind: you demonstrate that this is so beneficial for hearing children in the development of a good cognitive base to take them into their future, how come a whole group of deaf users, for whom the language is intended, are discouraged to learn what would be most accessible and beneficial for them? Why is this only good for hearing chiddren and not good for deaf? That's the true question.

great work thanx for getting your message out we need to see more

I should really do something about those transitions! Planning to upload a newer version sans flashy edits in a few days. Thanks so much for the input.

OH! I was not watching this POD all along b/c I thought it WAS the old one by GP... until I happened upon your profile and saw your comment you posted back to GoodPeople (who at this point, between the unessesary swearing and lack of, in your words, decorum, seems anything but "good"). Now that I have finally watched it, I am greenlighting it. I don't think it's a bad idea for Current to run two different versions of a similar story at all. I like your POD.

That being said, I do agree with some of the previous comments about the transitions... but I'm still Greenlighting this.

Thanks for your post GoodPeople, but to clarify, I began shooting this pod before I was aware that the topic had already been done. And despite the overlap with the Go Pictures piece, this one is a bit of a different take.

Your comments about the editing are probably valid -- but wow...some decorum would be nice. We're all just trying to be creative here.

I have no problem with producers exploring the same topics. I think you did a good job on this piece. As evidenced by our work, we love "baby" pods. Please check out our latest - "Flying Baby."

Keep up the good work.

SL, GO Pictures

What's up with this? Has anyone else seen the GoPictures pod called "Baby Sign"? This is just terrible not only is this piece not original; it's a complete and utter bite off shit that's already been picked up. I mean besides the fact, and I know I'm redundant, it's unoriginal, the editing is weak and many of the transitions are over done. Not to mention the sound problems. This pod , if I can call it that, is exactly what Current TV is not about. Shame on the greenlighters!

some of the transitions took away from the pod. great content and story. work on using less "in your face" transitions . . . let them be just that . . . a transition . . . not an extra part of the video. i second the microphone comment and didn't like the pop in white words on screen . . . i felt they also took my attention off the content. these are simply opinions . . . well done overall . . . just not top notch.

Wow,

So it looks possible to teach little ones not to cry and to actually communicate at an extremely early … Maybe I’ll reconsider the idea of the pitter patter of little feet down the road …
:p

A beautiful presentation. It's startling to think once upon a time, some medical professionals advised that it was best to let your baby cry and not to pick her/him up. It's more startling to realize that many parents still believe that.

Y'know Current, you're evolving all of our consciousness. Put this one Tv please, for the kids!

I feel like I missed out on something Important and Integral in the development of children....If i have kids they will definitely learn it! Great Pod! Great Job!

That is so interesting! And she is so cute! Your video is very well done. Technical note: Dont show the microphone in your stand up shot! Otherwise, amazing work!

Wow, really great piece Stephanie, well put together and it definitely informed me. Great topic too, I think in addition to being an interesting an d informative watch, its a perfect example of the usefullness and entertaining potential of current. I was a little uncertain if the sign graphics on black at the end were supposed to be there? I assumed they were not meant to be. That aside, you got my vote!

What a great piece! Keep up the great work!

Some of the lighting is a little low but your content is there!

TJ Walkup www.omnificpictures.com

Educational, and different... U get my GL

Check out our newest!

I never knew... you learn something new every day on Current.tv. All these pods about babies is driving me CRAZY!! I LOVE IT!! SOOOO CUTTEEEE!!!!!

educational

We have been signing with our son since he was about 4 months old and it was great for him to be able to learn another language! He can sign for more, eat, milk, please, together, happy, mama, daddy, and lots of animals and some songs too. It's a fun activity for us to do together as a family.

Signing also introduced him to language in a way that was different than just hearing us speaking to him. He learned the concept of "together" and "Happy" from signing class.

I liked this piece. I'm a teacher and it seems like a lot of the arguments against baby sign are similar to those against bilingual education. I could only imagine how intelligent little Emma will grow up to be.

This is a fantastic story. Definitely greenlight. Good editing and interview. Get this one on. Very imformative to parents.

Fascinating topic! It's amazing how such young children are able to obtain so much information! Adorable and enlightening! Thanks for doing such a great job!

Stories like this help pry open the limited tunnel vision we all tend to put in front of us. This piece should air. I also hope you can do one about diaper free children. Or how signing children are growing up?

In the sign a song studio where the lighting was poor, my only suggestion would be to have asked your subjects (during the interviews) to move to a better lit part of the room. As you may have noticed here, when you compress dark images from DV it's very difficult to see them.

All in all - interesting topic and greenlit!

this is great. my sister in law is russian, and she taught her kids potty training when they were about 6-8 months, just using a sign. (pooping clicks first... peeing came a little later. but rather the pooping come first!)
when she would see her kid about to go, she would make a sign, then take them to the toilet. she says it's how they do it over there. they don't have the luxury of infinate pamper supplies.

love knowing that there are even more options to sign... jen buhl :)

My 21 month year old has such a positive attitude and I believe its partly from his ability to communicate with his parents and caregiver so well. We always inform anyone else taking care of him of the most important signs he uses so that he can communicate his needs to them as well.

He is now satrting to talk and is so excited to use the sign and the word together.

Touching. GREAT T.V.!

this was a great piece! i think new parents will definitely appreciate knowing about this.

i didnt realize signing was an option for hearing kids. now i want to go have a baby and teach him/her how to sign. this is a very solid piece. good visuals. thanks for sharing.

Excellent. I'd love to see this on the air....

Learning sign thru Sign-a-Song and being able to communicate with my pre-verbal toddler was an invaluable tool and a very fun experience. Now she's often mistaken for older than she is because she is so verbally advanced, so she is proof positive that all language learned early on is a benefit.

Great piece, kudos to Andrea & Ted and the Sign-a-Song expierence.

~xosm & Jessica [a former two pound preemie who's now three and still loves her signs!]

everyone with young kids or about to have kids should watch this piece. it is important.

All the better to communicate with. And Lord knows we [the world] could use a little more communication. Why not have children that can communicate with 'more' people. Why don't we all try it?

I've worked with handicapped adults and signing really came in handy.

Thank you Stephania Smith in NY.