Baby sign

[SuzySunshine]

Has anyone done baby sign language with their little ones? I know we still have a few months before we can start with Adele but as little time as I have to read I figure I better start now.

So if anyone has done it and has any book or video recommendations I'd love to hear them.

TIA!

[DCJenn]

Re: Baby sign

We didn't because we figured the poor dude was going to be confused enough learning English instead of Russian. Some people recommended using it as a transitional step but that seemed kind of like overkill to me.

Jenn

[Phoebe]

Re: Baby sign

I didn't sign with my kids, but knew a couple people who did that had similar experiences that Tara mentioned. One friend's was a speech and language pathologist, though she has all girls, her husband also spoke very late as a child so there could have been some influence there.

[spotty_dog]

Re: Baby sign

Yep, we sign with Eddy. He's on track verbally too, but perhaps a bit behind where he would be without learning a "second language". It has been really fun to communicate with him early (he started signing back around 8 months), and I do think that his vocabulary (he's got several dozen signs) has helped to stave off some toddler tantrums. Kirsty/bugs (who watched him when he was 13 months) can tell you it isn't always a big deal for a non-signing babysitter to watch him. When he picked up a pair of shoes and signed, "shoes" over them, or when he pointed to the outlet where the Christmas lights plug in and signed, "light", she figured it out.

I liked "Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers" for strategies for introducing signs. For increasing vocabulary, this is a great site: http://www.mybabycantalk.com/content/di ... signs.aspx and also the Signing Time series of DVDs.

Re: Baby sign

We started teaching sign language to DS when he was around 5-6 months. I *think* he was about 12 months old when he started using the signs on a regular basis. He started out only being able to do a few basic signs (milk, eat, thank you), but literally within a few weeks of making his first signs he was able to sign 100+ words. We didn't have any problems with language delays....he has been able to speak in clear, complete sentences since he was about 16 months old and even now his language skills are far above those of other kids his age. :huh:

I only know one other family IRL who taught their children ASL, but they did not have any problems with speech delays.

We mainly used the Signing Time series of dvds...they are fantastic. I think Cumberland (and maybe Migirl?) had success with Signing Time as well.

[Phoebe]

Re: Baby sign

There is a show on PBS about signing. My kids enjoy it a lot. I forgot the name of it. My daughter has been learning some "signs" in her Music and Movement class in kindergarten and sharing them with us. It is pretty cool.

Re: Baby sign

we did not do it. i had grand plans to do it with Jacob, but ended up pregnant with Quinn and didn't have it in me. i have plans to do it when/if we have another. i know several people who have done it, and none ended up w/delays. One family (mom has posted here a few times - nantan) has 2 kids, mom is a speech pathologist, and the kids have excellent language skills. I think it helps a lot with the whiney / frustrated period when they KNOW what they want, but can't say it.

[madeintaiwan]

Re: Baby sign

J was in the research facility for Acredolo and Goodwyn's Baby Signs for a year. He was 18 months when he started attending but they have an infant program that starts at 10 m. We didn't sign with him much prior to going to the center because he was pretty verbal, over 50 words by 12 months old. But for the words he didn't know signing was GREAT. We had virtually NO whining with DS because he if he didn't know the word for something, he signed it. I am sure I am biased as Human Development was my major, but I think signing is great and the center is very successful. They have an infant, toddler, and pre-school program.

ETA: A didn't take to the signs as well. I really didn't try to hard with her. Boy is she a whiner... I will definitely sign with this one. I found my "most common/useful signs" sheet that the center J was at gave us.

[migirl]

Re: Baby sign

There is a show on PBS about signing. My kids enjoy it a lot. I forgot the name of it.

The show is Signing Time, and they also have the DVDs by the same name that I used with DS. I think the DVDs are great (thanks, Makai, for the rec! ).

Anyway, I did a little bit of signing with DS#1 and thought it was useful. I know lots of other moms who have signed with their kids and the kids are all over the place in terms of speech development (from super-early to pretty late) so I don't think there's anything to the language delay either. :huh:

Re: Baby sign

It has been fascinating for me watching Alison and Eddy communicating this way over the past months. We plan on signing with Jack.
I'll make a note of the resources that you are all recommending for future reference!

Re: Baby sign

I have done some basic signing with all my kids. Since I have done it with all of them, I can't say if it had an effect on language development but I can't imagine that 10 or so words would be that big a problem. I have always felt that my kids are focusing more on their motor development than language and it all works out after a few years. People are shocked to hear that either of my oldest were slower to talk. They have more than made up for that lost time. Anna was the earliest talker (earliest and biggest vocab) and also the one least inclined to move.

Words we included: more, bath, nurse, hungry, thirsty, goodnight, all done. I can't remember the others. I feel the biggest pay-off was when they are upset or cranky. It think we outgrew after a while but it was nice for a while. I do recall that during a few tantrums, months after I weaned her, Bryn would sign for nurse.

I checked out a book and video from the library. That was enough time for me to learn a few things and get some ideas.

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: Baby sign

We didn't with DS, pretty much because it didn't interest me. I figured, eh...if he's got something to say badly enough, he'll figure out how to articulate himself. The last thing I need is a nine-month-old waving his hands around, demanding things.

Completely backfired. Now the kid shares aloud every thought that ever passes through his head. And he sounds just like me...his first complete sentence involved a remark about something being "completely unacceptable." A couple of months ago he told his teachers that he needed ibuprofen because his frontal lobe hurt from his laceration (but I don't think he knows what a laceration is...he didn't have one. He'd just bumped his head). Last weekend, in Barnes and Noble, he found some book with all the current primary contenders' pictures on the front, and announced loudly, "Look, Mom!! It's Barak Obama!!! He's on FoxNews with Brit Hume! He's gonna be President, not George Bush." Then he turned to the couple standing (staring) next to us and announced, "But Mom liked Woooo-dy ["Rudy"]...but he dropped out." The other patrons were looking at me like I raised a complete freak.

About age 3, you can't get them to stop talking.

I could use a little silent hand gesturing as the preferred form of communication. I'd consider making it your exclusive form of communication.

[HouseofWool]

Re: Baby sign

We did just a few, very basic signs with Caleb. More, eat, milk (used for any drink) and our own version of "all done". At the one year mark it made a huge difference in him being able to effectively communicate such simple needs to us. I definately plan on doing the same with the next one. I was too lazy to create a huge sign vocabulary, in part because I didn't want him to use it instead of communicating verbally. Now, a bit of "quiet time" would be a welcome respite.

[houseelf]

Re: Baby sign

We signed and did early introduction to Spanish and it turned out o.k. for us. I really enjoyed signing with my kids FWIW. :huh: Both of my kids are talkers though. I swear, DD came out talking. There is no holding them back.

Kelly

[Michele]

Re: Baby sign

We did Signing Times with Daegan and he just learned not to sign with people who don't get it.....he signs with me and tries to say other stuff with daycare...they have learned a few signs (more and all done specifically)....same with his French....he says it to me, but not to anyone else. The biggest thing is he LOVES the videos!! It may not be your style to pop your kid in front of the electronic babysitter, but it's saved us on many occasions....so much that I'm going to buy more of the DVDs b/c I only got the Baby series. He even signs words that I don't do like banana. Who knows if it delayed his speech...I can understand him and he gets along ok at daycare. :huh: He does the "milk" sign for nurse (i found out too late that there was a separate sign for "nurse" - which is "give" from the breast) and that's helped in public so he's not always just yankin on my shirt.