Who uses Sign language with their children?

Marsha - posted on 04/12/2012

I use sign language with my two daughters.

I started with my first daughter, using ASL, I didn't go with baby-sign because the words I was teaching her (an infant) were simple to sign. And she did them. And I figured that ASL is an actual language and just seemed more educational than baby-signing.

"Eat", "more", "drink", "grandma", "grandpa", "uncle", "aunt", where some that I taught. As she got older I showed her "toilet", "sleep", "girl", "boy", "doctor"... things like that.

I do the same with my second daughter.

I find even now (they are 5 and 2) if they can't hear me because we are at a family function, I can sign "eat" so they know to get to the table, or "leaving" so they know we are heading out. It has come in handy a zillion times.

Corinne - posted on 03/14/2010

when my daughter was born i had those baby einstein dvds and one of them was a "signing" dvd! i kept up...teaching her one sign at a time until she learned it then moved to another! shes 17 months old and knows "all done" "more" and "hungry/eat". ive started teaching the ones i wanted her to do instead of crying or whinning! i love the idea of communicating with my baby without wanting ear plugs! haha my family has been good about respecting what im doing and keeping up with the signing when theyre with her! i have a deaf uncle and i would love for her to learn so muchhhh more!! im even going to start slowely introducing a new language to her soon!

Alisha - posted on 03/14/2010

lynn go google and type in baby sign language. . .u should get some good links, also try youtube. i like to see many people are doing ti with ur lil ones. it makes me happy. im going to be teaching a lesson to a moms group i go to. im a lil nervus about it but so excited too. i still terach my 2 older kids sign language and they are 3 and 2 and im working on it with my youngest who is almost 5 months. i love it and he has signed his first sign. . .yay



everyone keep up the good work and inform others about it!!!!!!!!!

Lynn - posted on 03/11/2010

i want to but i dont no how. any one have tips on teaching it.

Becky - posted on 03/09/2010

I started using sign language with my daughter around 14mo. Yes, it's early, but my 18mo. she could sign and understand my signing back. I simply signed as I spoke with certain words. ie: milk, more, eat, all done, down, up, sleeping, bed, play.... As she got older and my oldest daughter starting sign with her too. (She was taking sign language at High School too). Soon, my two daughters knew more sign language that I did.

Jen - posted on 03/09/2010

I started teaching my daughter (2 at the time) sign language after I found a book and flash cards at a local store. I didnt know any at first either so we both learned together. It was great "us" time and she seemed to really catch on. We dont use it everyday but sometimes we pull out the flash cards and quiz each other first Ill show her the card and she signs then we switch. Its pretty great!!

Karen - posted on 03/09/2010

I used sign language with all 4 of my kids. Since they are all 2 years apart, it was a life saver. I bought the set "Sign with your Baby" and it was awesome! I even had our daycare worker and the rest of my family learn the basic signs. All of my kids are able to understand signs now and they use them with my youngest who is 21 months. I found that the kids got less frustrated because they had a way to communicate before they could verbally communicate. My kids were able to understand what I would sign from about 7 months and did their first signs around 9 months (much earlier than they were able to use spoken words!). Personally, I think that everyone should teach their kids signs! It is great! I highly suggest "more", "hurt", "eat", "drink", "nurse" and "all done" if no others. Check out baby sign language...just remember, that repetition is what helps. Oh, and not all kids will do the signs the same. They often develop their own...so be ready for that and pay attention so you can learn them. Good luck!

Alicia - posted on 03/09/2010

I did some signing with my twins and loooooved it!! I didn't know it myself to begin with however i found a great website that showed some basics so we learned together, It was such a great thing because when they could not yet talk they were telling me when they were "hungry", or asking for "more", saying "please and thank you", it was awesome..Not to mention how proud and exciting it made me, to see them using sign and "I" was the one who taught them.

Gena - posted on 03/08/2010

i have taught mine some. hes 11 months and he knows all done and mom

Jessica - posted on 03/08/2010

I started signing to my son when he was born. He began signing around 10 months! I think it is wonderful!!! I have taught him quit a few signs and he communicates so well with signs. He tells me he wants a drink, to eat, crackers, please, thank you, milk, water, juice, more, all done, bath, to go to bed, diaper change and asks for help. He also knows mommy and daddy! And he is only 14 months! I strongly recommend signing!!!

Hayley - posted on 03/08/2010

I started to learn for fun a couple of years ago then became friends with a classmate who is deaf. I want to learn more, I only know the basics. So that I can teach my children. I am going to start signing simple signs to my girl soon, she's too distracted by everyone and everything to keep her eyes on me for too long. I plan on taking more sign classes one the second bub is here and in a regular sleeping and feedin pattern so my partner can babysit while I do classes.

Kristin - posted on 03/08/2010

i used it with my son who is almost two he says simple things like please more thank you and now he is finally starting to say it with and with out the sign, i am teaching him bc my brother is deaf tho and my perants didnt teach us so i want my son to learn bc they learn faster the younger they are. its also nice t have bc he could tel me when he wanted more food or what he wanted tho b4 he could talk

Ericka - posted on 03/08/2010

We used sign language as a way to curb my sons' frustrations when they couldn't talk. It enabled them to tell us what they needed when crying doesn't work. We started at 6 months and by 9 months my son started signing back. It is such a relief to be able to know what is wrong with your child when other children (and sometimes parents) are just crying for what they need.

Jamie - posted on 03/06/2010

I started basic signing with my 7mold, who is now almost 1yr. She does "More" and "Drink" mostly. I'm very happy that we taught her, it's so much easier for her to show us what she wants than have to cry until we figure it out. I really think this is a great way to communicate with babies that have frustration in trying to get what they need/want.

Chrisa - posted on 03/05/2010

I use sign lang. with my 1yr. even though he trys so hard to talk we still use it just easy for us to comm. although we have been haveing a bit of trouble with the thank you and please sign.

Brooke - posted on 03/05/2010

Hi. I've been learning sign language alongside my son, and working on teaching him, though lots of the time, he teaches me signs before I've seen them. I started sign language with him when he was maybe 7 months old and he just turned two. We absolutely love it and he really enjoys learning from and watching the series, "Signing Time" dvds. They are one of his favorite past times, honestly. I have wanted to learn ASL for years and figured what better time to do it than with my new baby. It is a second language, and it never hurts to have more than one way to communicate. If we ever encounter someone that has a hearing impairment or if I just want him to know more than one way to ask for something, we will have this language tool. He knew lots, probably 10-15 signs by the time he was 10 months old, and he practiced them and knew how to implement them well, so that not only myself, by his dad, his aunt & his nana could understand him. Today, I would say he knows 40-50 signs, he has almost learned the alphabet in both sign language and in English, and I think the fact that he signs things and enjoys it has only contributed to him picking up the English language even quicker and clearer. He recognizes and signs things that I didn't even know he knew. We just love to sign as a family. Thanks.

Kat - posted on 03/05/2010

i use sign language with my daughter. she has a lovley book about animals that we use. my brother is completely deaf so we use new zealand sign laguage rather then baby signs so that she can communicate with her uncle and other deaf people we see.

Cindy - posted on 03/05/2010

My daughter could use sign language before she could even talk. She learned it from one of those baby videos.(Can't think of the name of it right now.) But it was amazing the first time she asked me for her cup with sign language.

Colleen - posted on 03/05/2010

we started at 6 months. we did basic ASL signs and it helped my son communicate. aslpro.com even has a baby dictionary. they put out books. also it is an older book but sesame street has a GREAT book for signing.

Victoria - posted on 03/04/2010

My son had a 70% hearing loss due to constant ear infections. Once we got his tubes in when he was 15 months he went into therapy for speech. He now knows; please, help, more, all done, open, sit, drink, eat and thank you. Now, he is speaking the words with signing. It doesnt make them delayed in talking, actually helps them communicate earlier. It helps with keeping them from getting frusterated. I did 3-4 signs with my oldest and worked like a charm as well even though he didnt have any delays. I would highly recommend using sign language because it can teach them a visual communication before they physcially can speak the words!

Faye - posted on 03/04/2010

my oldest is now four and has had speech problems since he was two. He is behind on what he can say and has problems pronouncing certain letters, G,C, S, F. But when he started out in speech therapy he did learn a few signs. Which helped a lot. But once he went into the school system for speech at the age of 3 he was no longer taught sign. I thought it helped and would have liked to continue with it. The whole family had to learn what signs he learned and later he even taught his baby brother a few signs.

Cristina - posted on 03/03/2010

Oh, well, let me tell you that I used it on my son now 22 months, from the time he was about 4 months I honestly think that it saved me and him both, just because I asked and he answered with the sign of the thing he wanted, I feel that he was less frustrated if he could tell me what he needed, and to tell you the truth I was too knowing that he could tell me. I learned then taught him the basics, milk, water, food, eat, more, thank you, ball, mommy, daddy not much, but enough for us both.

Amanda - posted on 03/03/2010

I started taking ASL classes in High School and loved it! I started signing to my daughter when she was just a few weeks old and she looked at me like I was crazy. She is 11 months old now and knows about 10 signs. It is so helpful for both of us when she can say what needs or wants. I teach both what I remember and we use the Baby Signing Time DVDs, which she loves, and she is catching on really quick.

Amber - posted on 03/03/2010

when my son turned 1 and wasnt talking we found out that he could hear well at all so we hired a teacher for him.. threw this we taught everyone in the house hold how to sign.. i think it is amazing it allows your little one to communicate with you when they cant use there words so that they dont get fustated. My son can hear and speek better now but he still would rather sign.. he knows:: help, more, hungry, dog, duck, eat, drink, mom, dad, please, thank you. there are some more but they slip my mind right now. I also plan on teaching our next child sign language as soon as we have another one.

Heather - posted on 03/03/2010

I taught my oldest daughter sign language...but just the basics of more, please, all done, and drink...I am also just now starting to teach my 7 month old son those same basics. I also teach it to the two little children I babysit for. It helps soo much when you have a little 15 month old that doens't talk yet, but just crys and begs for something and you don't know what she wants. At first she was really stubborn and wouldn't do that signs...she's shake her head and turn away, so i wouldn't give in. Then my 2 yr old daughter came up to her and showed her the signs and she picked them up in 2 days!! Great stuff

Stacey - posted on 03/03/2010

Huge fan of teaching sign language to infants/toddlers. I worked at a large university and enrolled my daughter in their lab school for the early childhood development undergraduate and graduate students where they've been teaching sign to the infants and toddlers for well over 10 years. This is where I was first exposed to the concept, but my daughter's pediatrician also recommended it at 9 months. As others have said, it helps foster their cognitive development in a unique way by associating symbols with objects or actions. I also have to believe it was helpful for her just in knowing she had a way to communicate with me and that I was receptive to her message (or trying to figure it out!). I would guess she had 40-50 signs, from animals to foods and from bedtime signs to signs for good manners:-)

Elisa - posted on 03/03/2010

I used signs with my 3 year old and he still uses them for certain words. I am not starting to teach them to my 3 month old and the 3 year old still remembers them even though we haven't used them really at all for over a year. I think it really cuts down on tantrums because they can tell you what they want easier so it cuts down frustration. It also has benefits for the baby in learning oral language later on, they have shown that the sign language babies learn language better when they are toddlers/pre-schoolers.

I checked out multiple books from the library and learned about 100 signs just because it really is fun to learn. My 3 yo was using about 40 signs at a time at the most, but he kept wanting to learn more and more.

I hope you try it!!

Kristina - posted on 03/03/2010

I use ASL with my son. He knows some of the basics like more, bad, milk, mommy, daddy, and bottle. I think its a great way to be able to communicate with your children because they dont have full speech yet. You would be suprised how fast they learn. My son started learning ASL before I did. Thanks to SPROUT tv and thanks to the Baby Channel. So when he started picking it up I thought to myself why not?! Its a great because he knows what he wants and knows how to tell me rather than crying and me trying to figure it out.

Erin - posted on 03/02/2010

we sign in our home, my in-laws are deaf so it is important that they learn. i'm not sure if i would have thought to do it had our situation been different, but i am glad it is a skill my kids have. i don't believe it delays verbal speech, my oldest was talking quite well by a year, but it is important to vocalize while you sign, if you are just making the sign then that is what your baby will do.

SARAH - posted on 03/02/2010

Well, I have 2 year old .. I have been workin with him , on his sign and his speach and teaching him other languages. I would like to say to all frist time parent your children are not to young to learn , so don't stop working with them everyday... The sooner the better

C - posted on 03/02/2010

I learned a fair amount of signing from a friend when I was a teen and an extended family member that were both deaf. (nowadays, you can find a lot online or get a dictionary from the library.)

I have used it with all of my children and then they outgrow it as they learn to speak.

My oldest is a girl and it was just a fun thing for her. Like doing ABCs in sign when singing it too. She spoke, verbally, sentences by a year and a half.

My next was a boy and he and I were both getting frustrated when he was unable to tell me what he needed. He didn't really get talking until 2-2 1/2. Before that he had signs for more, please, thank you, done, potty, milk, eat...

My third was delayed in speech and actually had speech therapy to get him going at about 3. We had a board in the living room where I took digital pics of most used items, including his favorite blanket, and printed them out along side a picture of the sign. It took the stress off him verabally and gave us a way to communicate. He could point at the picture and then eventually learned the signs. As he got older, we put the cards on a ring so he could take them places with him. He knew about 50 signs but rarely uses them now (he's 4).

Our youngest is 17 months and knows the same basic signs the 1st boy did. He's talking a fair amount though and I can see him already using the signs less and less.

I also have taught them to other kids over the years that I've watched. Signing is great for kids with other developmental disabilities as well, autism included.

Allie - posted on 03/02/2010

I taught my son sign language, just "more" and "all done" to start with. Then we branched out and I taught him a little bit more. It has been AMAZING, I feel like it has cut down on the normal frustrations you hear about. I have had such an "easy" time with him. He's almost two now and just happy and helpful. I feel like the sign language at a young age also help his vocabulary progress to where it is now. Normally kids his age are just barely talking in small sentences, but he's been saying small sentences for a few months (it may have nothing to do with it, but who knows). I would recommend it to everyone.

Lorie - posted on 03/02/2010

I taught my oldest son sign language and it delayed my sons speech. He started to say two or three word sentences when he was about 16 months. So I stopped.

My middle child is 19 months and I haven't taught him sign language and he started to talk when he was 9 months.

Cari - posted on 03/02/2010

I used it with my son and it was amazing...It wasn't for anything more than us wanting to communicate with him earlier...and that is exactly what happened.
He understood milk when he woke up, so that he didn't fuss, he knew the change sign, up, thank you, more, eat, love you, and more. It really taught me what they pay attention to, and it isn't what we think. There is no frustration because they are being heard. And my son is advanced in his communications skills and reading, so don't think that they won't talk, that is a so far from the truth. I would highly recommend it. You can email me if you want to chat more. cari@herbertson.net Give it a try, you will love it!

Charity - posted on 03/02/2010

Both of my kids signed when they were young and couldn't talk. It was a great way for them to let me know what they wanted. I taught them simple signs like hungry, more, all done, things they knew and wanted to tell me but just couldn't yet.

Sarh - posted on 03/02/2010

I used sign language with my daughter until she could speak full sentences. It helps w/their learning. She has pretty bad ear infections and has had to have 2 sets of bilateral ear tubes. I can tell when she can't hear because even after not using the sign language for about 3 yrs now, she will still use it if she can not hear from a bad ear infection. I believe it is VERY useful!

Amy - posted on 03/02/2010

I taught my son more, all done, eat, drink, milk, cereal, ball, book, please and thank you. It has been soooooo helpful! He has started to try to talk now and still uses it a lot. It really has helped with reducing frustrations on both of our parts. Defintely so glad that I decided to use it and it's amazing how quickly they catch on.

Melissa - posted on 03/02/2010

I use sign language with my 14 month old. She knows eat, more, milk and I think you gets the one for change diaper. I love it! I go to a church with a large deaf population and the deaf minister has helped teach me some of the basics. I hope to keep her signing and make it a part of her everyday life.

Sarah - posted on 03/02/2010

I also forgot to mention i teach the kids at the daycare i work at who are older and can talk to use simple signs during snack time so they won't "talk" with their mouth full, since this was happening alot and i find it bad manners. I taught them how to say Water,Juice,Milk,Please,Thank You,More,Sorry & Excuse Me and then some of the foods they would want more of :)

Sarah - posted on 03/02/2010

My sister has been trying to teach my 5 month old nephew sign language and he can sign "Milk" which is very helpful because sometimes he starts crying then she is trying to figure out whats going on and he will sign "Milk" and then she will nurse him where as when he doesnt sign milk and she goes to nurse him he doesnt want it and it was something else, so now she asks "whats a matter" and he signs back "milk" its so cute and helpful, My other sister 10 yrs older than me taught me sign language when i was a baby through to age 4 and it cut back on tantrums for me and she said she believes its because i could communicate what i wanted/needed where as a child can become frustrated by not being able to let you know due to speech not getting through. this is just my opinion i hope this is what you were asking

Heather - posted on 03/01/2010

used it with my kids when they started the tantrum stage and it helped greatly. I had a step son he just about killed me with fits and such. I didnt feel overwhelmed with my boys, I just had to be more aware of when they were trying to sign to me and they where much easier to handle. I hated having to "break" my step son of his fits. Resorted to having to stop whatever I was doing to walk away from him (outof his view, but could still see him) and finally that stopped his "freak outs" It was heart breaking.
With my other boys I realized that it would be so easy to teach them sign language and I already know it myself so it was so simple I could've kicked myself for not working with my oldest. I taught them common everyday words, or answers to regularly asked questions... Hungry, hurt, play, brother, signs for important people in our lives, more sleep, mad, potty, and on and on. different toys they prefered. I had one special needs child who hit milestones slowly but the other progressed with his speech just fine. though, sometimes when feeling shy he'd just sign. but now they dont use the signs they use their words but do remember some signs. they each knew 50+ signs and I have a friend who children develop their signing skill as well as spoken language.

Kristin - posted on 03/01/2010

I did with both of mine and plan to again with our last child. It helped bridge the preverbal gap, where they understand words but don't have the ability to speak with any clarity. The signs I thought were most important were eat, drink, more, please, thank you, all done/finished, sleep. I know don't a lot of signs, but these were some that were taught in a parent and child sign class. From relatives of mine, I was told that learning sign also creates additional neural pathways which make language learning easier later in life.

One really nice thing about my boys knowing sign is it reduced the hysterics when they wanted or needed something and we understood what they wanted. That alone made it worth it. It isn't like you have to learn it all or even use it forever, If you decide to continue with it, that's wonderful.

Dannii - posted on 03/01/2010

When i was younger my baby-sitter had a deaf daughter, so i learnt some sign language. I have actually been teaching my Son sign language.. He is only 16 months old but when i sing to him the Alphabet song i sign with my hands, he is not deaf but i think it will be helpful if he learns!

Alisha - posted on 02/28/2010

thank you everyone for sharing. I use sign daily with my children and just love it. i have always want to work with special needs but didn't really know what i wanted other then that. . however i do know i want to work with sign in my career whatever it will be. i have teach all 3 of my childrena nd am still teaching the. . they are 3.5 yrs, 2 yrs and 4 months. im hoping to start maybe teaching others at a community place but time will tell for that. Im tryint o go to school in july for my first really course of ASL as i ahev just learnt on my own. my 2 oldest children know about 75-100 signs and im about 200 however i would love to be able to sign as i talk. . THATS MY GOAL♥

Heather - posted on 02/28/2010

when we had our son, the babysitter we used had a daughter with a hearing impairment, so she actually started teaching us all signs. when he began preschool they started teaching him some common signs and the alphabet, that has continued into his school age years.. (he is in 1st grade...) now my daughter is in preschool and is learning it as well. i think its something that is useful to know, and it teaches them about diversity...

Adrienne - posted on 02/28/2010

I took a sign language course in college before my youngest was born. I always wanted to learn to sign and teach my kids. I taught my oldest the signs for more, thank you, please, the ABC's, poop, pretty, and so many others. The only thing about teaching my son is that I started teaching it to him when he was 2 weeks old (he just stared) but he took longer before he would talk because he signed more. But it's very helpful when they are crying and your unsure of what they want.

Samantha - posted on 02/28/2010

i have been teaching my 6 months old daughter sign langaged since she was born...guess it natural for me as iam deaf. my daughter is hearing and so far she can sign milk. ii think it good for all parent to teach their child to sign as you be able to commucation better and also good for the child future for work. i used my voice when i sign to my daughter so she can learn to talk too even though i cant hear her..my partner say she make little noisey to learn to talk.

Amy - posted on 02/28/2010

I use some signs with my 9 month old son and it has helped me know what he needs. He doesn't do them yet, but will either smile or grab my hands when I do the one he needs. I haven't use the ASL ones but my husband and I made up our own. I think it is a good idea and really helps you accomplish things during the day.

Megan - posted on 02/27/2010

I am signing with my 15mo old daughter and it is great. She was getting so frustrated that I couldn't understand her that she would just scream when she wanted or needed something, and it was up to me to keep guessing what she wanted in order for her to stop. Once I introduced a few signs, the screaming stopped! It's been great! We most commonly use more, all done, please, thank you, eat, drink/milk, potty, and baby. We've started going to a free baby signs class at our local community center, so I'm hoping to be able to broaden our signing vocabulary! I know some people think that if you sign with your kids it doesn't encourage them to speak, but I've actually been reading that it helps with speech development!

Julie - posted on 02/27/2010

I took sign language for three years in college. It was the best thing that I ever did. My son was born partially deaf and had the hardest time communicating. Since I know most of the language, we (the whole family) were able to use it. He then went into daycare, where it is an everyday practice for the staff. they claim that it makes communicating easier with the younger children. Now he is in kindergarten, and has had the surgeries needed to help him hear better. Imagine my surprise when his teacher wrote to the families that she will be using sign language in her class work. My son already has the basics down, and is loving all the new stuff. I feel that sign language is very helpful, and to make a short story so very long, i am glad that it has become so widely used. it was a blessing in disguise for me, and i am sure it is a blessing for many other families, regardless of disabilities.

Alisha - posted on 03/14/2010

lynn go google and type in baby sign language. . .u should get some good links, also try youtube. i like to see many people are doing ti with ur lil ones. it makes me happy. im going to be teaching a lesson to a moms group i go to. im a lil nervus about it but so excited too. i still terach my 2 older kids sign language and they are 3 and 2 and im working on it with my youngest who is almost 5 months. i love it and he has signed his first sign. . .yay



everyone keep up the good work and inform others about it!!!!!!!!!

Becky - posted on 03/09/2010

I started using sign language with my daughter around 14mo. Yes, it's early, but my 18mo. she could sign and understand my signing back. I simply signed as I spoke with certain words. ie: milk, more, eat, all done, down, up, sleeping, bed, play.... As she got older and my oldest daughter starting sign with her too. (She was taking sign language at High School too). Soon, my two daughters knew more sign language that I did.

Karen - posted on 03/09/2010

I used sign language with all 4 of my kids. Since they are all 2 years apart, it was a life saver. I bought the set "Sign with your Baby" and it was awesome! I even had our daycare worker and the rest of my family learn the basic signs. All of my kids are able to understand signs now and they use them with my youngest who is 21 months. I found that the kids got less frustrated because they had a way to communicate before they could verbally communicate. My kids were able to understand what I would sign from about 7 months and did their first signs around 9 months (much earlier than they were able to use spoken words!). Personally, I think that everyone should teach their kids signs! It is great! I highly suggest "more", "hurt", "eat", "drink", "nurse" and "all done" if no others. Check out baby sign language...just remember, that repetition is what helps. Oh, and not all kids will do the signs the same. They often develop their own...so be ready for that and pay attention so you can learn them. Good luck!

Stacey - posted on 03/03/2010

Huge fan of teaching sign language to infants/toddlers. I worked at a large university and enrolled my daughter in their lab school for the early childhood development undergraduate and graduate students where they've been teaching sign to the infants and toddlers for well over 10 years. This is where I was first exposed to the concept, but my daughter's pediatrician also recommended it at 9 months. As others have said, it helps foster their cognitive development in a unique way by associating symbols with objects or actions. I also have to believe it was helpful for her just in knowing she had a way to communicate with me and that I was receptive to her message (or trying to figure it out!). I would guess she had 40-50 signs, from animals to foods and from bedtime signs to signs for good manners:-)