baby sign language

Janice - posted on 02/24/2010

My 11m loves to do the YES sign. So adorable. I really want to learn more but had no luck at the library. Need to go to a book store... I also taught him how to give kisses pretty early and it makes my heart melt evertime he randomly lays one on me. The best sign language ever! :)

Jennifer - posted on 02/24/2010

My nephew started learning signs at around 11 months old. It was a wonderful way to communicate for him! I now have a 4 month old and am already doing signs with him! I know he probably won't catch on for a few more months but it gets me into the habit of doing it! I think it's wonderful! Don't be discouraged, just be repetitive!

Caitlin - posted on 02/23/2010

My son is not deaf but he is a late talker. His speech therapist started teaching him sign language and it has really helped cut down on his frustration. He can sign please, more, and all done. Most people ask me why children are taught sign language if they are capable of talking and I simply reply the it is the stepping stone to talking. Children learn to associate the sign with the word and eventually they will talk. But until then you will deal with less temper tantrums.

Bethany - posted on 02/23/2010

My son is 14 months old, and we sign with him even though he is hearing. He knows "eat", "drink", "milk", "down", "all done", and "more", as well as "bye".
He will also sign "dog" and "dada", but not consistantly yet. We're also teaching him "gramma" and "mama".

He also loves to chat verbally! He never stops babbling, and has a great vocabulary for his age. We plan on adding to both ways of communicating as it cuts down on his frustration when he can tell us what he needs/wants. I wish we would have started signing with him sooner, but he's picking up on it quickly! I love it!

Krissen - posted on 02/23/2010

Hello Gabrielle--Yes I taught all four of my children sign language as infants. None of my children are hearing impaired. I found that it gave my children a means to communicate before they could actually verbalize words. In my opinion this eliminated the "terrible twos" because we were able to effectively communicate. It was also enjoyable to see grandparents, friends, and church friends learn to sign, so that they too could understand what our children were trying to convey and respond to them as well. I still use signs with my children and they are now 7,5,4,2. I have personally seen many benefits as a result of signing. Hope this helps--all the best to you & your family!☺

Carolyn - posted on 02/23/2010

I started signing with my son when he was 3 months old. By 6 months he was signing "milk." He is now 17 months old and knows more that 60 signs. It has really helped him learn to talk as well. He associates words with objects a lot quicker when there is a sign attached. He already knows his colors and about 6 letters of the alphabet. It is very helpful, but also a lot of fun. Now that he's older I let him watch Signing Time videos. He took to them immediately and started using new signs after watching the video twice. I highly recommend signing with your baby :)

Abey - posted on 02/22/2010

i do and its a huge help the only bad part is some people are not willing to learn so they can do it as well,, but we still do it and its a big help and my fav book Baby signing 123 by Nancy Cadjan

Brooke - posted on 02/22/2010

I am just now starting to teach my baby signs. He is six months and not deaf. I took a class offered through my Parents as Teachers Program. It is supposed to help him communicate his needs before he can speak and should increase his vocabulary by the time he can talk. I am very excited. The speaker said it could take him a few months before he starts using it, but he is learning every time I demonstrate. Good luck!

Sarah - posted on 02/21/2010

I started signing with my son when he was about 8 or 9 months old, and started out with just 'milk' and 'more'. By 15 months or so, we were signing 'please', 'thank you', 'more', 'hungry', 'thirsty', 'ouch', 'book', 'apple', "bed", 'blanket' and 'cheese' among others. Now at 20 months, he still signs the words, even if he is saying it at the same time, and it totally help with his frustration. He says quite a bit, but the signing has been wonderfully helpful! This next time around, I intend of starting signing at an earlier age! I too recommend it.

Sharon - posted on 02/21/2010

I think it's great! I started signing with my daughter when she was 6 months old. She didn't start signing back until she could speak the words. In the beginning, I thought the signing was wasted because she could already say those words. But I took it for granted that she didn't always speak the words clearly. If she didn't sign with the words while she spoke, I probably wouldn't understand what she was saying. So, it's good that she's now signing while she speaks, reduce her frustration of not having us understanding what she wants.

Barbie - posted on 02/20/2010

Basic signs are great & worked well for my daughter & I. We even attended storytimes that the story lady did sign with songs that the children learned.
Also check out a music class in your area. I have had my daughter in Kindermusik, which is more that just songs. It's a learning music class and it an incrediable program for learning.

Jocelyn - posted on 02/20/2010

i loooved it!! my sons daycare taught him basics like 'more', 'drink', 'eat', 'please' and 'thank you'. what a lifesaver! i never had to guess at what he wanted---well from about 6mos on that is ;) good luck and happy signing.

Tiffany - posted on 02/19/2010

My neice was learning it thru her daycare. It was amazing to me!

Jeannine - posted on 02/19/2010

Used it with both my sons. They both were signing "milk" and "more" and "eat" by the time they were 9-10 months old. It really cuts down on the whining, crying and general frustration on their part. It's tough for a little baby not to be able to communicate their needs, and this is a great little temporary solution. It's also very easy. Just say and sign milk everytime they nurse or drink a bottle. Everytime you ask them if they want more, also sign it, everytime you ask if they want to eat, also sign it. They will pick it up quicker than you would EVER imagine! I know I was surprised. Just make sure to speak the word as you're signing it so they learn the verbal way to communicate what they want too! :O)

Gina - posted on 02/19/2010

Baby signing is a great idea! I used a few signs with my frist daughter so she could tell me when she was hungry, all done,more,toy,and wet(for diaper changeing).She got her needs met and she even potty trained much faster because she was telling me when she wet! She was fully trained and wearing real pantys by her 2nd birthday!
I plan to teach my 3month old daughter the same signs also. IT REALLY HELPS!

Erika - posted on 02/19/2010

I signed my son up for a Mommy and Me sign language class when he was 10 months old. I didn't really care for the class too much. He did learn a few signs. He is now 2 1/2 and he only remembers one. I wish I would have gone to a different class. I think it's a good idea. Your Baby will be able to communicate with you before he/she can speak.

Hope this helps a bit.

Erika
http://www.4MyFamilyandMe.com

Amy - posted on 02/19/2010

yes!!! we skipped terrible two's thanks to it. our favorite dvds are Signing Time. My daughter is 3 and still uses it. My son is 10 months and can sign dad, more, mom, eat and my daughter invented her own "oh no" sign that he does. lol. It's also useful to know when hubby is on the lawnmower in the summer!! :) My husband comes home from work and asks georgie what new sign she learned and it's also a good bonding thing. she teaches dad, daddy then learns and i feel like we're all connected better. My husband says it'll come in handy at football games in high school when he wants us to get him a pop. :) here's a couple sites that we also use when we come across something and we want to learn the sign.

www.aslpro.com
www.lifeprint.com

Sheryl - posted on 02/19/2010

I used the basic signs with my children starting around 7 months old. They would start signing back to me around 8 or 9 months old. I loved it, a lot less frustration for mom and child.

Jennifer - posted on 02/19/2010

I began using signs like "more" and "milk" and "all done" with my son when he was about 3 months. Just showing him what they were and what they ment. He didn't start to pick it up til about 7-8 months but now he is doing pretty well with talking and signing. He signs "thank you" and "ball" and "up" and "hungry" and "thirsty" as well as the ones I started out with and a few others and he is now a year old. It is VERY helpful when they can't tell you what they want and relieves so much frustration.

Gabrielle - posted on 02/18/2010

the book I got is called "BABY SIGNS how to talk with your baby before your baby can talk" so far its great my baby is only 2 months but I cant wait to start using it and seeing the results :)

Carolee - posted on 02/18/2010

I used only certain signs with my son. I thought it was helpful to have him be able to say "hungry" and "all done". It helped me be able to schedule meal times better for him. We still use those two and he's been able to talk for a while.

Kelly - posted on 02/18/2010

I used basic signs with both of my boys when they were babies. (Now 3 1/2 and almost 2). I LOVED it and they did too. It was wonderful teaching them the tools of communication. They were able to tell me basically what they wanted and were rarely frusterated. We stuck to the basics, milk, more, all done, eat, (please & thank you--which they mastered after a year). It was great. I HIGHLY recommend it. My first son was speaking 4-5 word sentences by 18 months, so don't listen to people who think that signs will take the place of words, they don't. They teach the art of communicating at an early and less stressful way. (I started both boys at 6 months).

Milena - posted on 02/18/2010

Never tried it with mine but if u watch Blue's clues Steve uses it a lot and my daughter actually picked it up. Sounds like a great idea. What is the name of the book?