One day, when she was about 18 months old, we noticed Graci signing '
diaper'. We reinforced signing back and saying "yes, that's your diaper." "That's a clean diaper." or "Dirty diaper." We did this for a few days until we finally realized... she's giving that sign only when her diaper is ready for a change and sometimes while she's going! We started paying close attention and taught her the '
potty' sign. We would sign 'potty' and say "Graci goes potty!"
After a week or so, we introduced the potty chair. Since she could communicate through signing we could ask her, "Do you have to go potty?" and she would say "ya" or shake her head "no". Sure enough, when she said she had to go and we put her on the potty... SHE WOULD GO! Unbelievable! At 18 months!!!
Typically, potty training begins at about 2 years of age. We only started early because Graci "told" us she was ready. Graci now says "potty" and "poo" while giving the 'potty' sign when she has to go. She doesn't tell us every time, or we don't catch it every time, but at least she understands the concept and goes on the potty when we put her there.
Just another example of why you might want to use Baby Sign in your communication development with your child. Keep it simple... being consistent with 5 - 10 signs can really make a difference!
Contact Us
We are getting several comments and inquiries through the Graci's Story app on Android. If you would like to contact us directly we would love to hear from you. Send an email to GraciStory @ gmail com. We are open to suggestions on topics. If you have one and we have experience with it, we will include it in our Graci's Story blog.
Thank you all for your love and support.
