baby signs

Hi there. My babies are still young, but DH & I are really looking forward to doing baby sign with them when the time comes. I am very curious to hear about your experiences if you've done it and it worked for you (or didn't!).

When did you start doing signs with the babies?

How quickly did they catch on?

Any tips/tricks for helping them learn?

TIA

 

We used signs, but only a few.

We started around 5 months I would always sign 'milk' if they were hungry or we were going to nurse, they picked up on that one within about a month.

I am a HUGE fan of the sign for 'more'. They still use that one and I love it. It made/makes meal time so much more quite when they are not whining for more. I started more around 9 months, just signing it every time I asked them if they wanted more. Every time you say the word, just sign it too.

We also sign eat, all done (it's their own made up sign which is fine with me), water, and sometimes poop. Chloe signs bird and says tweet tweet, that is cute.

Anyway, we didn't go all out on signs, but the few we do really did make things nice. I am definitely going to sign again with the new baby, maybe ever throw in a few more signs.

 

We did more, tired, done and play. those were the only ones I was organised enough to use regularly. I beleive it helped soooo much in the pre talking early talking stage with frustrations on all parts. Good luck

 

We started at 10 months. My DS started signing Milk within a week - his favorite drink. Milk and More are the two signs they used right away. We continued with it until 2 or 2 1/2. Now they will sign but not as frequent.

DH and I loved signing with them. We think this is one of the best things we did with them while they were young. It saved us from much frustration, grandparents liked it - they, too, could figure out what they wanted, and they communicated to each other by signing as well. At one time, I counted up to 50 signs that my kids knew, and then I stopped counting. It was a lot of fun, and something that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in doing it.

As for learning sign language, none of us knew it when we first started, so it something that we all learned at the same time. We found it easy to learn by using the Signing Time videos. My kids still like the songs and will watch the videos every once in awhile. But, when they were learning, these were their favorite videos. And, we had the CD's that we would play in the car, and still do. I think the videos are a great way to learn signing.

Congrats on thinking about signing. It has been a great tool for us. To this day, DH and I will sign something while out and wanting to communicate from a distance. Enjoy learning a new language! It is fun.

 

I'm a big signing dork! We love signing, it's really one of the things we've done with them. Huge fan of the Signing Time DVD's. Really, we all learned signing from that. The girls signed before they spoke, and once they did start talking, they would use the sign along with speaking, which helped greatly for us being able to understand what they were saying. I highly recommend signing with your children. At this point, I think they probably know over 100 signs.

 

We love signing too. Start around 10 mo but it really takes off at 12 mo or so. It really helps with the communication issues.

 

We starting signing at around 8 months. I worked wonders with frustration! They could finally tell me what they wanted! You might want to check with your library, or local mom's clubs. Sometimes around here they have "baby signing" classes.

The book I used was :
Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk

You can also access the american sign language website at:
http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi
Which shows a video of how to perform the sign, and you can look up words.

It was an awesome tool we used, and what was really helpful was, each time I signed it to them I would use the word associated with the sign, then when they used the sign I would repeat the word to them. It was not too long when they started trying to say the word, then they actaully were able to say the word with the sign.

Good luck!

 

We loved signing with our boys and still do! We were huge Signing Time fans as well.

 

I sign with my oldest daughter, and I started around 9 months when she could wave bye-bye. She didn't sign anything for 6 weeks, and at times I wasn't very consistent because I wasn't seeing any results I started with "food" and "more" and "out" (for all done/out of high chair). Now that she's 20 months, she will still sign as she says the word, so I don't give any credit to the argument that signing slows speech. Now we also use "cup" and she has assigned her own signs to "bath" and "brush teeth". We love it. If I would have had more energy (instead of being pregnant with twins!) I would have loved to really expand and teach signs for animals and more foods. It's funny, also, because one time we were at a party with friends and my husband was across the room and I wanted him to bring me some water, so I signed "cup" to him It worked!

 

We also did the basics - more, milk, done, eat - and I agree that it helped with frustration. But, we also made sure to teach them "please" and "thank you." I can't tell you how much this helped them learn how to be polite! I started signing "more, please" and "thank you" from the beginning. As soon as they were able to learn more than one sign, they were doing them on a regular basis. Now that they can talk they are always saying "please" and "thank you." When we had a friend cut DS's hair the other night, he said "thank you" to her just about every time she took a snip. It was too cute! Plus, they say it to each other all the time, too. I really believe that developing the habit early is going to help it stick.

 

QUOTE(reggs55 @ Nov 23 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]506632[/snapback]
It's funny, also, because one time we were at a party with friends and my husband was across the room and I wanted him to bring me some water, so I signed "cup" to him It worked!


LOL, we'll sign at each other too when we don't want to shout something across the room. That reminded me, signing is also great for those situations when you don't want to be a big spectacle (playgroup, church, etc) and be the one constantly saying no, stop, down at your child and have everyone looking at you. You can sign it to them. For some reason, mine take signing no much more seriously than saying no. I don't know why.

 

This post has really interested me! My girls are nearly a year old....do you think that I've missed the mark for starting with them? I googled the signing times dvd's and it sounds like so much fun...

 

We sign as well. We started at 6 months and even continue today. I think it's a great way for them to communicate. I feel that it has helped them with their vocabulary and it enhances their verbal skills. Signing didn't happen all at once for them. It started with a few words like, "milk" and "more" and then expanded to "please," "thank you," etc. We now do animals and although we try to follow ASL's (American Sign Language) signs, but there are some that my DH and I make up ourselves. I don't believe it ever too late to start learning. There are so many great books, DVD's, etc. out there. Have fun!

 

We used this "My First Signs" book. It's a cute and colorful book. It's easy to learn and they love the pictures. It's also filled with common words that babies need to know.

 

With my DD we started at 4 or 5 months.
Milk, more, please, eat.
Next we added help and apple.
Signing Time is great! Discovery Toys I think is one that offers Baby Signs with DVD's and charts that are great.
We would hang up the chart of signs for when someone would stay with her so they too would be able to know the signs.

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Nov 23 2007, 06:51 PM) [snapback]506398[/snapback]
I'm a big signing dork! We love signing, it's really one of the things we've done with them. Huge fan of the Signing Time DVD's. Really, we all learned signing from that. The girls signed before they spoke, and once they did start talking, they would use the sign along with speaking, which helped greatly for us being able to understand what they were saying. I highly recommend signing with your children. At this point, I think they probably know over 100 signs.



ME TOO!!!

DD loves to sign and often signs and speaks. I plan to continue with them always. I took ASL as my language other than english for my teaching cert. and I am able to communicate with my children even when they can't hear me or I can't yell for them to hear me (restaurants and across the library....)

I LOVE SIGNING...... and ditto Signing Time :wub: :wub:

 

QUOTE(cathmar @ Nov 23 2007, 08:26 PM) [snapback]506725[/snapback]
This post has really interested me! My girls are nearly a year old....do you think that I've missed the mark for starting with them? I googled the signing times dvd's and it sounds like so much fun...


No. Definitely not too late. You have so much time ahead of you in which you will be able to communicate before they can talk freely. Go for it! Have fun too!

 

We also used signing with P and P. To learn the signs we used Signing Times videos. My DH was great at always signing things when he spoke to the girls. Now that they talk all the time, the don't sign as often, but do still know the signs. I recently bought Baby Signing Times for my little one...All three girls love it also. Chloe has just started to pick up signs and it does make life easier when you know what they want/need.

 

Wow, thank you so much for all the inspiring stories! We are really psyched for this.

For those of you who started early (like before 9 months), how fast did you babies catch on?

 

QUOTE(kma13 @ Nov 24 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]507020[/snapback]
ME TOO!!!

DD loves to sign and often signs and speaks. I plan to continue with them always. I took ASL as my language other than english for my teaching cert. and I am able to communicate with my children even when they can't hear me or I can't yell for them to hear me (restaurants and across the library....)

I LOVE SIGNING...... and ditto Signing Time :wub: :wub:



I am so jealous! I wanted to do this, but it isn't "allowed" in Kentucky. Which, if you ask me, is completely ridiculous since you are more likely to have a deaf child around here than someone who is unable to speak English! My sister is planning on getting a separate ASL certificate since she is going into Special Education. If I can the time and money, I would go with her. I think sign language is beautiful and have done several songs in sign language for church with the creative ministries team I direct.

 

We used the common signs that others have mentioned, and found them very helpful. I recall Elliot's first 3 word phrase was actually signed, not spoken (more milk please). They loved doing animal signs and making the animal noises.

I don't actually recall when we started, and I guess we gradually stopped as they began speaking more. I just recently noticed that although we haven't used signs with them at all in quite awhile (months? a year?) they still always use the sign for "please" when they say the word. That's the only one they still use.

Now that it's on my mind, I might see if we can review a few of the old signs - no need to forget them entirely. I'll just pull out the old Signing Time (no "s" at the end - I discovered when I was searching online for them) videos and we'll watch them a few times.

-Rachel

 

I took a Kindermusik class for signing so I know some of the basic signs--more, all done, milk, food, drink, no, ball, etc.... Which DVD should I start with if I already have the basic ones down???

 

I think teaching babies how to sign is a wonderful gift to help ease their frustration. It takes a lot of time and consistency, though, and I admit I failed on that front. I started at around 10 months, and probably stopped around 12 months. I think the video would have helped a lot - I tried to teach them by just signing myself, but I'd often get busy and forget. Now that I have 18 month olds who still aren't saying much, I really wish we had this resource to help ease the crying and whining when they get frustrated with their inability to communicate. When we have our next child, I'm definitely getting the video.

One interesting thing we've experienced, though, is that somehow one ds dredged up the memory of the sign for 'more' a couple of months ago and now uses it all the time. He's extended the meaning to 'want', and all day long will make the sign then point to what he wants. We love that he can at least communicate this to us. I just find it amazing that although I hadn't tried to teach him the sign in many many months, he somehow remembered both the sign and its general meaning on his own and started using it!

 

Another resource might be your local PBS stations. One of the three PBS stations we get actually airs the Signing Time! videos. So we have all the episodes on our DVR, that saved us a lot of money. We don't watch them all that often, but I notice that Chloe will sign along a lot of the time.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Nov 25 2007, 09:18 AM) [snapback]507788[/snapback]
I took a Kindermusik class for signing so I know some of the basic signs--more, all done, milk, food, drink, no, ball, etc.... Which DVD should I start with if I already have the basic ones down???

You might want to go ahead and start with Signing Time Vol 2. Vol 1 is very basic, covers most of the the signs you mentioned, we don't watch that one a whole lot.

 

We did signing with the kids but went a slightly different route than the others described. We started by reading the book Baby Signs. Then we slowly started to introduce one or two signs (milk and more). When they had those signs down, we slowly started to introduce more and more (all done, light, etc.). To introduce more signs, we used the board books by Linda Acredolo, My First Baby Signs, Baby Signs for Animals, Baby Signs for Mealtime, and Baby Signs for Bedtime. These board books show real pictures of babies using the signs in context. Just using those four board books, my kids basically self-taught themselves all the signs in those books (maybe around 40 signs). At that age my kids rarely watched TV and I did not feel comfortable with the videos (don't get me wrong, they watch plenty of it now). But I got the same results using books!!!

It took lots of persistence! We started introducing the signs as soon as they started waving goodbye. It wasn't until they were around 13 mos though that they used their first sign. But once they did, it really all just started to click!

This morning, as we were playing, Ben asked for some milk. He used his words, but his little fist was pumping the sign for milk. It made me laugh that the kid is well past 2 1/2 and STILL using signs to communicate!!!

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Nov 25 2007, 04:48 PM) [snapback]508144[/snapback]
This morning, as we were playing, Ben asked for some milk. He used his words, but his little fist was pumping the sign for milk. It made me laugh that the kid is well past 2 1/2 and STILL using signs to communicate!!!


Today at lunch, they were having roast beef sandwiches and out of nowhere, Bea makes like a "wheels on the bus" kind of rotation with her hands and proclaims "That sign for roast beef!"

 

I wanted to add that you don't really need any books or videos if you don't want to spend the money. I just looked up the signs I wanted to use and taught them to the babies myself. We never had any videos and I never bought a book. I'm sure they are great if you have them money, but we didn't.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Nov 23 2007, 03:28 PM) [snapback]506285[/snapback]
When did you start doing signs with the babies?

How quickly did they catch on?

Any tips/tricks for helping them learn?

We started with just a few ("more" "eat" "water") when we started solids, around 6 months

They seemed to understand them quickly but didn't start to sign until around 10 months. They started out signing in response. I would ask "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?" while signing "hungry" and "eat". Then in response they would sign back "eat" if they were hungry. If not, they ignored me.

It wasn't until right around a year that they started to really take off with the signing. What I have done is find things that they seem most interested in and learn the sign myself and then start to use it every time I say the word. It's very simple for me to do one at a time and they seem to catch on so quickly, often using the new sign within the first day I introduce it. Right now their signing vocabulary is:
"eat" "more" "all done" "milk" "smoothie" "banana" "cheese" "down" "sleep" "bath" "water" "ball" "light" "hi/bye" "change (diaper)"

Several of these words they also use sounds with now, like they say "wa-wa" when signing water and "ba" with ball and "dow" with down.

My advice is to keep at it. It's very exciting when they start to use it and they get such a look of satisfaction and pride when they are able to tell you what they want and you understand."

 

I don't use very many signs, but I do believe that they are a life-saver We sign for more, all done and please and I am now working on thank you. They are fantastic to use and the kids pick up on them really fast.

 

HI Ladies,

We are a deaf parents with hearing twins, Rianna and Justin. They're almost 14 months old and they know signs some signs. We are a big collector of Signing Time DVDs. We also do flash cards because they both love books. It is so much easier because we would know what they want when they tried to communicate with us during pre-talking stage. Keep up the good work with signing!

Diana w/Rianna and Justin