Baby Signs

YES! We love to sign! I bought Baby Signing Times and we LOVE IT! (Thanks to the person who recommended them to me on Mamasource). I love that we are teaching my one year old another language!
I think we started when she was about 10 months, and it took 5 weeks for her to start, and now she signs "more", "eat", "cracker" and "milk" regularly. Yesterday she was looking at a baby in a magazine wearing a hat and she signed "hat" and grinned. It was ADORABLE! I just wish there was somewhere that I could take a course to keep this going!

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I'm using signs with my almost one year old (Sept 12). She knows more and eat so far. I'm working on learning more myself so that I can teach her. It is so cool to see a little one express herself! She uses more for everything, more food, more reading, more play, etc.
None of my friends are doing it, but that hasn't swayed me. I've done some research and there are tons of positive benefits.

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We use Baby Signing Time too-- we have vol 1 and 2. My 10 mo old will sign "more" and "eat", and sometimes "all done." He isn't anywhere near talking yet, so it is nice for him to have a way to communicate. Also, if he is fussy the Baby Signing Time CD really helps in the car. He will sit in the backseat and sign to himself in the mirror!

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I am an Adult CODA (child of Deaf Adults). I as well as my 3 siblings learned sign before we were able to speak. All of our children learned and used a little sign and some *Family/Baby signs* growing up.
When I worked in the Head Start program I taught some to the children.
It truly does help ease frustration for non-verbal children. I have seen it ease the Terrific Two's stage. I own and operate my own Child Care business and have taught it on a small level to the infants and toddlers in my care.
I have now made it part of my lesson plan for all children
We don't use Baby Signs but do use ASL.
I have been blessed to care for my granddaughter and she has been signing since an infant and her vocabulary both signing and verbally are immense!
My mother had always wished that they would teach Sign in the schools. When I was growing up I had to go with my mom to interpret for her. Sign Language is the 3rd most used language today. I have a family enrolled now that speak Portugese and sign has been very helpful communicating with the two year old who is learning English through the use of sign. He has only been here a few months and is able to communicate his needs.
Life brings us many changes. Sign Language as a second lanuage is important on many levels. Should you lose the use of your voice for one reason or another - sign language would be a valuable asset. My mother became deaf at 9 months after a fall, and my Father was 3 and became deaf as a result of Scarlet Fever. Back then there was not too many options medically. They have both passed on to be with the Lord now.
My desire to keep my Parent's Language alive in my heart has prompted me to make it more a part of our daily activities here.
I became a Certified Instructor of this beautiful language and offer it as an Enrichment Program to my clients.
I would advise you to read and teach about the Deaf Culture as well.
I am so happy to hear that many parents are using sign. My mother would be happy to know that.
God Bless
"Ms." M.

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I think you are right that there seems to be a lower interest in signing with infants/toddlers in the area. I have struggled to find a daycare that supports signing. While I love that my daughter knows over 200 signs at age 2, I do wish she could use that knowledge outside of our home.

One thing I have been doing to try to raise awareness is to write periodic letters to the local PBS station requesting that they add Signing Time to the programming schedule. It's a great program (we own all the DVDs) and is shown in most major metropolitan cities on PBS, sometimes as much as 5 times per week. I think making the program more accessible would be a decent start to raising overall awareness.

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Hi K.,

Signing with children is wonderful! My daughter used sign with her little daughters and it was really marvelous to watch. They were able to express themselves before they were able to talk. Plus, I believe it helped them better communicators even after they could speak. She did have people who told her they wouldn't learn to talk, but her daughters are now 5 and 4 and they have absolutely no trouble expressing themselves verbally and have large vocabularies. I commend you for speaking to your son in sign. I work with children in my home and use sign with them. I just love it! I believe it will start catching on more and more as others begin to see the benefits.

K.
www.joyfulconnections.net

P.S. I had a couple semester of ASL in college, which helps some, but I cannot give enough praise to Signing Times at www.signingtimes.com.

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I've used it with all 3 of my kids. My first used it almost exclusively until she was close to 2. My grandmother and her friends thought she'd never speak. She even made up her own new signs to communicate when she didn't know a sign to say what she wanted. It was wonderful as it allowed us the joy of understanding her and she was rarely frustrated because we didn't understand her needs and wants. (Now she certainly experienced frustrations when we said "no" to her wishes, but at least we understood what they were!) When she did start speaking, she went right to sentences.

My second was an early talker. We started with signs, but many times he'd learn to say a word and then learn the sign afterwards. To this day, he's the talker. My daughter has wonderful language skills and is reading quite a bit - she'll be 5 this month. But she just has a quieter personaliy.

My third is 15 months and we are using it now. I'd say that she is somewhere in the middle of my first 2 - uses half verbalizations and half signs to communicate.

We have several friends that used signing on some level with their babies and all of them felt it was rewarding for everyone. When it comes up in conversation with other parents, I always add a positive comment.

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I think that is great. I work in a preschool and do music with the children. I teach them sign language with some of the songs and they love it. Helps them to remember the words better too. Some children get so frustrated when they can't communicate and this would help them be able to "speak" sooner and let you know their needs without just crying. Good luck with it and I hope you can get others to be interested in this as well. It will also be wonderful when they get to school in case there are any deaf children in their school. Children learn languages so much more easily then adults, so why not make them bi-lingual?

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Hi K.,

Keep up the good work. It will catch on. Keep spreading the word. D.

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Hi K.-
I do sign wth my daughter everyday- we do basic signs like eat, drink, milk, more, please, thank you and I love you. At 9 months she is only signing milk but we're working on the others. I'd like to do more but haven't had the time to school myself beyond basics.
That's great about your boys! It is a great way to communicate with your child. Obviously they're benefitting from the time and effort you put in. Kudos to you!!! :-)

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I've signed with my youngest two since birth, and my oldest has picked all the signs we use along the way. My second daughter, now 3, was talking in sentences before her first birthday. My youngest is 15 months and he uses many signs - his ability to communicate is far greater than it would be without signs. He voices a few words, but chooses to sign more than talk. I'm certain he would just be whining at this point without ASL, and I love that he can tell me what he needs! I'm due (last week!) with another baby any day now, and will most definitely be signing with this one as well. All of my children started signing around 6 months after I started signing what they were asking for around 4 months.

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Not only did we LOVE baby signs, but I taught them to our daycare at the time we enrolled our son (now 9 y.o.) so the teachers would 'get it.'

I taught one-on-one classes then, to anyone interested, and did one session at our local Gymboree... definitely encourage you to make yourself known in the community.

Baby signs cut down immensely on frustration - both child & parents/teachers, since we could understand him.

HIGHLY ENCOURAGE anyone to teach/learn baby signs... wonderful!!

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I don't know why more emphasis isn't put on this... I LOVED baby signs. My son, who is 3 1/2, still likes to learn new signs. There a show called "Signing Time" on our local PBS station on Sunday mornings at 7. Sunday morning, he will often bound into my room to have me turn it on. I know these DVDs are going lie crazy on ebay.

It was so nice to understand what he wanted before he had the words to tell me. I teach and I heard about signing with children while in college, so I decided to try it with my kids & am I ever glad I did!

His vocabulary is HUGE - his favorite words include: complicated, despicable, and regurgitation.

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Hi, K.. I am an Infant/Toddler teacher at a daycare. We teach signing from the moment the infant starts. They all picked up on it within a matter of weeks. The oldest just turned one and his mom compliments on how well she can interact with him and he is her 4th child. I've seen great things with signing. We, also, speak the words we are siging so they are hearing it as well. A lot of the parents that come in see us siging and question it. It has the wonderful benefit of communication with a non-verbal child, resulting in much less frustration. Keep up the good work.

D.

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I used sign language with all three of my kids. I consistently hear from everyone how articulate they are. Their spoken language skills developed far faster than most other children I've met. I highly recommend it to anyone!

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I will sign with my next child. I am currently teaching my two older kids to sign baby signs. My mother works with special needs kids, many of who sign, so she signs & sings to my kids as well. Plus we have a cousin who has Autism & is wonderful at signing, So for our family it will be a huge bonus. We are using the Baby Sign program, and so far love it. Just need to wait for the baby to be born and be old enough to see the signs.

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I did it with my daughter and it was amazing. I just think that not too many people know about it. It is so easy and well worth it. We really only did about 5-6 signs but it broke down so much confusion in communication compared to my first born. The signs we did were yes, no, eat, milk, more, change, hold, & potty. Those signs got us through until she started talking really early.
I didn't know about it with my first born. Now I vow to buy a book as a gift for every baby shower I go to. MOF, I think Baby Einstein makes a video now.

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As you mentioned in your description about your self - signing in daycare is becoming more mainstream - at least at the national chain daycares & even some smaller daycares. They focus on the basics, but also other words as well. I believe it's a great way to bridge the gap when the little one is trying to communicate and when they can actually speak. Also, FINALLY, they've been able to come out and say that signing with your child doesn't delay speech communication. The same experts aren't sure that it helps either, but that it does eliminate some of their (and your) frustration when they're trying to tell you what they want.

I started signing with my daughter when she was 4 months old - we used the Signing Time dvd's. She started signing back between 9-10 months old. It was SOOO helpful to be able to understand what she wanted. She is now 22 1/2 months and has an impressive vocabulary. She does not sign as much anymore - only when she is tired. She still loves to watch the dvd's. She dances, sings, and signs along.

I give the Baby Signs dvd to all the new moms I know.

L.

I agree about the benefits, and as a child I remember checking books out of the library to learn some signing because I was fascinated with it. I think the problem is we just aren't taught to sign! As I was growing up my father was transferred about every 3 years - which meant we attended ALOT of different schools, in different states. In all these schools signing was not taught. Not only would it be easier to learn while you are young, but the older we get, the busier we get, with little time left over. If I can't sign, I can't teach my chldren - do you know of any community center, etc. that offers classes? I might like to go!

My daycare teaches a few signs, so we just use "please" "thank you" and "help". Our son is 18 months old, we used these with our three year old. We find we don't need much more than this, as he makes his needs and wants known fairly well. So, I would have no further interest in learning more, and quite frankly, I wonder about delays in verbal speaking, as that seems to have coincided with a few kids I know whose parents were heavy into signing. Not as much incentive to speak it verbally, I guess. And kids have the ability to have a ton of "receptive" language, which I take it you mean, ability to understand! The 18th month old understands the majority, or at least the gist, of what we are saying, so I would be part of the community who is not demanding sign language for my kids.

K.,

Keep up the good work! Even if there is not a demand in the community now they will have the benefit of knowing a second languge that has been negleted in our country. I have a friend who adopted a Chinese baby and from the begining they signed with her, she is now 6 and loves to sign her secret languge with her high school aged brother.

S.

I think it's great that you sign with your boys. I took a sign language class with my oldest (now 5 1/2) and had a hard time learning it and teaching it and dealing with being a first time mom. I tried again with my second (now 2 1/2) and got a better response from both. My oldest was excited about it and the younger one signed before he spoke--late talker. I didn't keep up with it which I regret. I do find that it comes in handy sometimes though, to tell your child something in a group from across the room, for example. I wish more people would do it. I too found that it is only common among a small number of people. I believe my oldest knew all his colors at 2 because we signed them. I think it jump-started his language skills. I wish there were more classes, for mom and child. I too wish it were more main stream. Keep it up, your children and the children you teach benefit from your knowledge!!

Hi K., I'm sorry to say that when my girls were little signing was not a option. My nephew has been signing since he was 3mo old in CT. It seems to be far more popular on the east coast...and your right, it does make communication easier although I wonder what it does for speech. There are times when my nephew visits us and signs and we are clueless! I think that as the current generation grows this too will grow, I'm sure I'll be learning signing soon and it is a great skill to have! Keep on teaching!

I would like to be able to sit with my children and do it. But i really don't know to much of it. I worked in a daycare and we started the children on it. But not all the classes kept up with it. And then another teacher took over the classes that i was in and stopped altogether.
I know back when i was little and had a speech proublem that in speech class we where taught how to spell our name. But even the schools are not big in it either.

I am having twin girls any day now! I would like to start signing with as early as possible. Can anyone recommend a book or DVD?

K. C. I dont sign with my children but it is something that I really would love to learn. I think you are doing a fabulous thing by teaching them sign langauge. You are giving them a gift even though they may not use it much, but when the need arises they will be well prepared. I look at siging as an art as well as a way of communication. If you can continue to teach them, let them learn every aspect of signing. It is something else they can add to there resume when they have the need to make one. I applaud you for the lesson that you are able to teach your boys and someday they may have a need to use it and be very greatful that they know it.

Yes, I sign with my kids too. However, when my first one started to talk well, we signed less and less. Everyone would comment on how much and how well he spoke for his age. (Presumably because he was motivated and able to communicate needs at such a young age.)
Now with my second, we are reintroducing signing and hoping to continue it beyond when she starts talking.
I completely support signing personally and professionally. I think some parents are afraid if the child signs, he/she won't learn to speak. My son began dropping the signs once he mastered speaking the word. A friend of mine told me that her son wouldn't say the words he knew in sign... so each child is different. I guess I will see what my daughter does.. :)

No, I do not. I am glad that this works for you, but I feel that it is not necessary for my family. TBPH, I don't have any personal friends who have tried it or put to much stock into attempting this skill. Good job on taking extra time with your child to teach him this :)

K.,
I tried this with my first son. He still uses the couple signs that we taught him. He is 2.5 years old. I did not get any support from my family. My mother cried that she wouldn't be able to talk to her grandson if I taught him to sign. Unfortunately she missed the fact that you are saying and signing not just signing. My son still doesn't say too much. He makes up his own signs for things. I wish that we had taught him more and ignored everyone. I found it hard to sign with him as a lot of the signs you need to use both hands and when you are holding on to him it was hard to do. I also felt like I started too early with him and he wasn't able to sign back so I kinda ran out of steam and didn't sign anymore. Now I have a second son who is 9 months yesterday.. I think I will start signing with him now. I had been doing elimination communication with him. He is kinda on strike with it. I would love to have a sign for him to use when he needs to go potty. I think it is a fist with the thumb between the pointer and middle and then you shake the fist. Is that correct?
Anyway keep up the good work. I wish that I had known someone else who was signing. Most people think that your kids will just sign and never talk. Since my first is slower than most to talk it is not helping the issue..
Please keep us up to date and let us know what signs you used first and any pointers!!!
Thanks!

i tried baby signs with my youngest. It made communication a lot easier but he wasn't very vocal until he started at daycare. I don't know if the two are related.