Anybody use sign language with your LO?

FutureMrsLemon · December 2010

I would like to start trying to teach DS some signs. The ones I have introduced thus far are dog, cat, milk, mom, dad, and I would like to introduce eat, more, and please. He is 9 months old. Is it too late to start with him? If you were successful how did you introduce the signs and how long did it take for them to pick it up?

I kind of associate it with dog training. In that when you teach signs to your dog you have to associate the signs with the desired behavior. So I have just been doing the signs when we do whatever the behavior/object is done. Like I do the sign for cat/dog whenever they come around or are in a book. And I try to do the sign while I say the name. Does this sound correct?

Artist4life925 · December 2010

It's actually a great time to teach him! We do baby signs at the daycare I work at and we usually start encouraging them to sign back at this age!

MissyOlivePants · December 2010

I think I was using some signs with DD starting around 3mos or so. She didn't start using them until around 8 or 9mos and consistently around a year when she started to talk a little.

I'd say it's never too late. Especially if he starts to get upset about not being able to communicate with you (that really helped DD). I used basic words that we were using a lot, nothing too complicated - and tried to be consistent with it.

Lady Galadriel · December 2010

I Love the baby signing time videos. It is hard for me to learn the movements from a book and dd gets to learn the songs, see what the words are in sign, words and the actual thing.

Like milk, she says milk, shows babies having sippies of milk and nursing milk, and the word MILK on the screen. So it helps in many ways. DD started reading words at around 18 months and still signs.

I wouldn't put any time frame on them learning a sign. Everyone is different.

LisiLynn · December 2010

Totally not too late. DS is 8 months and I'm just now really starting to sign with him. Babies also remember signs from when they're younger. I started signing with my older son when he was about 4 months old and since he didn't seem to pick it up as early as some other children I became a bit lazy and stopped signing then all of the sudden around one year he started using signs I hadn't shown him in months and we took off from there. It was fantastic.

CABunny · December 2010

Totally not too late and your method sounds great. Both my boys are still learning, remembering & using new signs and they are almost 5 and 3 yrs old. Signing has been so important to us with C's speech delay - we'd have been lost without it.

blissfully_caffeinated · December 2010

It's not too late! I sign with Ds. He knows quite a few now. It actually works better if you don't say the word while teaching the sign. For example, you sign eat then offer food. You don't give the food immediately. You sigh eat again and give it to him. That's how I've been teaching Ds signs and he's been able to sign since he was about 6 months. We initially started on our own, then took a class, and are now doing it on our own again. The sign language instructor also said not to say the word when you teach a sign. However, I think that some signs (such as please) are easier to teach while talking. How long it takes for him to sign back all depends on how much effort you put into teaching him. Ds took to it quickly but I sign constantly with him.

ETA: Some of the signs Ds can do are: eat, more, all done, drink, juice, milk, no, stop, ball, kitty, walk, diaper, sleep, bath, yes, and book. I know there are more but I'm drawing a blank right now. Ds isn't even 9 months yet.

andrealynn0707 · December 2010

Definitely not too late, you are right in the perfect time to do it!

We just did the signs consistently with her- we didn't do videos or anything. DD still uses some of them, she just says the word now, too.

We did: milk, food, more, please, bath, cat, dog, thank you, sleep, and a whole bunch more I am forgetting now.

Jennicap · December 2010

We've been doing it all along but he hasn't signed back yet. We do eat, milk, more, done, play, bath, cat, dog, mama, daddy and thank you

babyluv617 · December 2010

I started with D around 8 months & we're working on them with C now. I don't think it's too late. D still uses juice, more & all done.

lytedark · December 2010

blissfully_caffeinated:
It's not too late! I sign with Ds. He knows quite a few now. It actually works better if you don't say the word while teaching the sign. For example, you sign eat then offer food. You don't give the food immediately. You sigh eat again and give it to him. That's how I've been teaching Ds signs and he's been able to sign since he was about 6 months. We initially started on our own, then took a class, and are now doing it on our own again. The sign language instructor also said not to say the word when you teach a sign. However, I think that some signs (such as please) are easier to teach while talking. How long it takes for him to sign back all depends on how much effort you put into teaching him. Ds took to it quickly but I sign constantly with him.
ETA: Some of the signs Ds can do are: eat, more, all done, drink, juice, milk, no, stop, ball, kitty, walk, diaper, sleep, bath, yes, and book. I know there are more but I'm drawing a blank right now. Ds isn't even 9 months yet.

holy crap!! that's awesome that he can do all of those already!! i have been admittedly behind in starting to sign with dd, i def wanted to start earlier but got a book for xmas and am planning to start asap

tommigirle · December 2010

it is never too late, my very verbal 2.5 year old still loves to use the signs she knows.

jwpbride · December 2010

I agree with everyone else that it's not too late, but also wanted to throw in that I was SUPER nervous that I would accidentally teach him the wrong sign for something, but really I learned that whatever the sign is to him/her, it will work. For example, I taught him the sign "more" like this:

BUT he started doing it like this:

which apparently is ok too!

I know this doesn't really have anything to do with your question, but I just wanted to put it out there to encourage anyone who may seem overwhelmed or intimidated by it all. We started signing with Noah at 6 months and he didn't sign until 10-11 months and now he's signing SO MUCH and making up his own signs. He know knows: please, thank you, milk, juice, eat, more, finished, ear (he has some ear issues so that's been helpful for knowing when it hurts), help, shoes, hat, dog/Rufio, diaper, car, wait, sleep, bath, toothbrush/brush teeth and The Wiggles.

He "made up" his sign for The Wiggles, which is pointed fingers and shaking them like this:

Help and wait were two that I didn't initially think of, but they have been SO helpfulin communication with him lately!

mantle · December 2010

I am fluent in American Sign Language, so we've used signs with our DD from birth, but we really started emphasizing them with the spoken words around 6 months. She is 20 months now and signs a bunch, sometimes speaking the words, sometimes not. It sounds like you are on the right track. The first two signs our DD really picked up was milk and baby, if that helps at all. DD started signing those sometime around 8 months, has really picked up speed in the last 6 months.

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