Baby Sign Language?

Question

My husband and I did study this while I was pregnant, but veered off between him being gone (marines) and me getting pregnant again right away when he came back. I know signs, but what are the basics I should start with? I can't get to the library for a little while so I thought I'd go out on a limb and see what you've done.
(As far as the sleeping especially, is it nap, tired or sleep?) Thanks guys.
:)

Answer 1

I am a nurse, and I work with kids who cant talk.....I can tell you what the first signs we teach them....

More
Stop
Eat
Hurts
I see you
Sleepy
for some reason those are the basics......then from there you can go on what you think is best.

Answer 2

The first word we taught our daughter was more. We didn't work with signing with her consistently, so this is the only sign she knows. She doesn't use it very often, but she can use it if she wants too. She's talking some now, and can say "eat" and "juice", so I'm not to concerned with teaching her any more, aside from the bonuses that come from it (improved reading and language skills). I would try teaching more, eat, drink, sleep, please, thank you.

Make sure you research the correct signs for anything you teach your child. I was just at a conference that talked about using sign language with young children, and the teacher warned us not to make up our own signs for things, and gave of some examples. The best one I can describe here is this: banana and condom are very similar signs. She showed them both to us and said to make sure we knew the difference before teaching the word banana to our children. In the presence of someone who uses sign language as their only means of communication, and your child wants a banana, but gets the sign wrong...well, that could be very embarrassing.

Best of luck using sign language with your kids! It can boost IQ, improve language skills, help them learn to read. It's really a great thing for kids, and I wished I'd done it more with my daughter.

Answer 3

I think you'll know what to teach them based on what you find yourself telling them all the time. . . . as for what word each sign works for, it doesn't matter if it's nap, tired, or sleep, as long as you, the adult, are consistent, I think. Both of my kids developed a sign for "stinky," which helped enormously when it came time for potty training. It helps to develop signs for their favorite foods. We use different signs for water and milk, as well as cookie, cheese, banana, apple, and chicken, among others. Don't worry too much about doing it "right." I think what's important is giving your kids a way to communicate with you before language production is perfected. Good luck!

Answer 4

I too have signed to my children and the children in my day care. It really seems to keep the stress levels down with children who can't otherwise communicate their needs effectively yet. Simple sings like "more" and "milk" are great places to start. I would suggest ordering a book online if you can't get to the library and begin. It's never too early to teach them!

Answer 5

Check out

http://www.signingbaby.com

There is tons of info, including pictures and even movies of the signs.