Baby Sign Launguage...do you you use it with your child?

Question

do you use it with your child?
if so,how did you remember the signs?
when do you start teaching them? when do they pick it up?
any non benifits to it?

Answer 1

yes i did

i'm not sure how I remembered, I just kept doing it and it became a habit for the few words I really wanted

because i knew i needed it to become a habit for me, I started when she was about 2 months, but really I think 4-6 months is the standard time it's recommended to start doing it for it to have a full effect.

she started signing back at 8 months...

I think the benefits are incredible... infants' brains are capable of understanding long before they can use words to express themselves. and their motor skills in their hands develop faster than their mouths do. so the sign for milk is much simpler than saying the word for a 8 month old.

this is the basic dictionary I used... it's free!!
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm

there are some videos and classes you can take, but this was all I needed!! long before her first bday she could sign "milk" (for nursing), & "bathroom" (for a diaper change)... that's pretty much all a baby needs is milk and a diaper isn't it?

once they've mastered those 2... I really started diving into a lot more... especially things like "please, more, thank you, home (for when she was ready to go home), help, hurt/pain, drink, eat" then when she had those really well, we started doing fun ones like animals, house items, family members...

Answer 2

I loved baby sign language. My daughter is almost 2 and still does a few signs, but she is so incredibly verbal now, that she doesn't need it too much anymore. My duaghter was 10 months when we started, and we remembered the signs by having a book handy and repetition, repetition, repetition!! The first time she signed, she was 11 months and did her sing for "cat". it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. To communicate with your child is amazing and truly a wonderful feeling. Over the next 7 months or so, her sign vocabulary went up to about 40 words, which was awesome and then she started speaking at about 18 months. She can now hold conversations with people and doesn't need her signs or to baby talk. I totally believe in baby sign and advocate to EVERY parent out there. It was a blessing to us. To have your child tell you what they are thinking before their mouths can form words is a miracle! Do it and you'll love it!

Answer 3

I always thought I was going to do it with my daughter but ended up not because she understood everything I said and I usually knew what she wanted. She's now 2 1/2 and talking up a storm so I don't think I missed out on anything. I'm 21 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and don't know if I'll try sign language with him until I get there.

Answer 4

If you are going to start I'd wait until after 8 months. They have tons of great DVDs and trust me the signs are not complex. Very easy for a baby to remeber so you should have no problem with the basics.

Answer 5

My daughter, born with a cleft lip/palate, learned some sign language when she first began speech therapy. I assure you that it's not a waste of time, nor does it hinder with verbal speech.
She's 5 now, and we still play around with ASL. It's a wonderful form of communication, and it can be a bonus.

It can be picked up at an early age. If you have the chance to use it, go for it. :)

Answer 6

I'm not a father, but I did use sign language with children. I'm only 15 but I usually understand a baby. When I was like, 6 I used sign language with my brother, who was 1. I clapped my hands and he would copy. I fanned my hands up and he tried to sit up. Something like that. Make it a game with your child. Make it fun and enjoyable so then (s)he will understand.

That's all I know.

Answer 7

we used standard American Sign Language with all 3 of our children. It was apparent that they had the receptive and expressive language skills to communicate before their were verbally ready to do so, and in my opinion, ASL provided a great way to decrease agitation/frustration (of the kids and us parents). We started modeling signs and encouraging use about 6 months of age, well before they had the actual motor control to do much more than crude approximations.
i didn't see any non-benefits.

Answer 8

I'm doing it with my 4 month old daughter, started it about a month ago. I'm just using a couple of basic signs now (milk for feeding time, dirty and clean for diaper time, daddy, mommy, cat) but I'm taking a class through our public health unit in January.

Answer 9

I just picked a few signs that I knew would be helpful for her to tell me what she wanted. Milk, drink, eat, more, and all done just to name a few. I started at about six months. It took a few months for her to catch on. Yes it was very helpful but once she learned to talk we stopped signing.

Answer 10

i use signlanguage with my daughter because my 21/2 yr old nephew is deaf and she is 13 mo i found a baby einstein dvd my first signs and it taught her so many words for all the basic stuff food, play, clean, eat, drink,park, family, mommy and daddy it taught her alot it's amazing to watch a 2 yr old and a one yr old to communicate like that