Baby sign language

jshrop · February 2014

Anyone planning to teach their little ones sign language? Any STM+ that already use it? If so when did you start and how many signs does your LO utilize?

beachbride5 · February 2014

my son didn't start talking until he was about 2 but showed ZERO interest in signing. my very verbal daughter, on the other hand, loved the signing time dvds and knew all of them by heart at around one year. they are incredibly helpful to ease frustration and i believe they help with their fine motor control, as well. my kids still watch them and i intend to keep them in the rotation for the new baby, as well. as for starting it...with my son i didn't dream of letting him watch tv (gasp!) so he started watching them around a year, but my daughter being the second was watching his videos from birth. lol. this baby will be no different. but i don't think they will actually be able to perform any signs before 6-9 months at the earliest.

i think they are a great idea for all babies- the videos are short and entertaining with lots of babies and children featured and even if they only learn the basic milk, more, play and all done, they are still communicating with you.

good luck!

shakeweights · February 2014

Yes! My sister did it with her little ones and they all could communicate what they wanted before they could speak. It made it very easy for any of us to talk to them really. She taught us the signs and we spoke the words while we signed and they did great! I can't wait to try it out with my LO

Edit: I got so excited I missed a word!

MorganW24 · February 2014

I've been a nanny for the last 7 years and teach this to all if the little ones I work with. It is a FANTASTIC tool to communicate with your little one. They are able to understand so much. They will start mimicking your signs anywhere from 6 months and on, the most common and easiest for baby are milk, all done, more, and please. These are the ones I start with and then move on to more advanced ones. If you use them regularly and respond when your baby signs they will catch on to as many as you are willing to teach!!

JNerd · February 2014

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nWQ51099C24
I found this to be sooo helpful (after getting the hang of it) when DS was really little (before he could sign).

We kept signing to the basics- hungry, more, milk, please, thank you. We still use them as he remembers to use the sign more than the verbal word (which he knows too). Think they are useful in helping read your baby's cues.

jshrop · February 2014

For those who used signing, did it cause any delays in your babies using their voices for requests? I'm sure this is a dumb question, but was just wondering...

JNerd · February 2014

jshrop said:
For those who used signing, did it cause any delays in your babies using their voices for requests? I'm sure this is a dumb question, but was just wondering...

I think that depends on the child/parent relationship more than anything. We still sign when we ask him things if he doesn't 'get it' or isn't paying attention, but are starting to insist that he use his words. The more we ask him to use his words the more vocal he is in response.
I think if you rely on it and never encourage or insist on vocalization delayed speech could happen, but I don't think it is a big deal. Kids talk on their own timelines, just like every other milestone.

Valie18 · February 2014

Our LO is going to sign. When my little brother was born we thought that he might be deaf (he needed tubes for a few years and is still hard of hearing) so the family learned sign-language. We only kept up with it until he was around 5 because he was becoming much more vocal and it made sense to have the signs for needs but encourage speech otherwise.

Anyway, it was hugely helpful in communicating with him and managing his needs and frustrations. The most common signs I remember are:

want

more

sleep

hungry

eat

drink

water/milk/orange juice

peanut butter (lol)

popcorn

sleep

toilet

thank you

play

music

I am sure there are a ton in the back of my brain somewhere...

My brother has decided that it will be his job to teach LO to sign. He loves the baby sign language flash cards and video we got him for Christmas. I'd better keep up with those two!

kks4471 · February 2014

My SIL is deaf, and DH is excited to teach our baby sign language. I only know the alphabet letters and a few random signs (like poop haha), so I'm excited to learn more too. Hope it goes well!

... now that I think about it, I really don't know if she considers herself deaf or hard of hearing. Her primary language is ASL, but if I'm looking straight at her and speak very loudly, she can hear and understand me. She and my nephew wear hearing aids.

tbmadeamistake · February 2014

Daycare taught C a few that she picked up on some that she still uses. She's losing them as she gets more verbal and realizes she can yell the word to get our attention (MORE!!!) rather than sign and hope we see her. She knew milk, more, please, yes, no, etc. However, the one sign that she still uses, and refuses to even try to say the word, is "Please". Must be a hard word to say. I love that we could understand what she wanted even when she couldn't tell us, and I'm hoping to be able to teach Charlie some as well.

babygabe614 · February 2014

We won't be doing sign language, but I have friends who had great experiences teaching their children to sign. Like others said, it helped them address the baby's concerns quicker since they were actually able to communicate.

DH's ex did sign language with my stepson when he was a baby and DH was never really a fan of it, and his son did have speech delays as a result (and we still struggle with his communication skills every day and he is 9 years old now, but that can be attributed to a number of factors...) I know part of that has to be how much they pushed him to be verbal (or not) and since DH was in the USMC at the time and thus away a lot, and his ex is very much of the "he'll learn when he is ready" type parenting style, my guess is they didn't push hard enough or frequently enough for him to start using words when he began to be able to.

hollygb22 · February 2014

daycare has a sign language teacher that comes in every wed and works with the infants and toddlers. We use a few signs..like more, thank you, please, but nothing crazy.

MorganW24 · February 2014

jshrop said:
For those who used signing, did it cause any delays in your babies using their voices for requests? I'm sure this is a dumb question, but was just wondering...

The most important thing to remember is to talk to your baby while signing the words. As their oral skills develop you want to encourage them to use the word with the sign. I have used baby sign with 9 kiddos and they all have increased vocabularies for their age groups. Every one of them had at least 10 words they were saying and about 25-30 they were signing by their first birthdays. It just depends on how much you work with your child.

MNOpea · February 2014

I signed with #1 and will with this baby. I started around 3 months and he started signing around 6. The picture is a list of signs he knew/used (missing from the list is "help") he has dropped a lot of signs as he's started talking more but still consistently signs milk, please, and thank you

Eta: he also still signs more

Read247 · February 2014

jshrop said: For those who used signing, did it cause any delays in your babies using their voices for requests? I'm sure this is a dumb question, but was just wondering...
We taught him ASL. I was interested in learning so I would sign when I spoke to him. I feel like signing may have delayed him speaking, but then again it could just be because he's stubborn. If he knew the sign for it, he didn't want to say it. He speaks fine now and his doctor was never concerned about him not talking very much because he was still able to communicate. He still signs, especially when he feels like mommy isn't paying attention to him or if he really wants something.

shellbell813 · February 2014

FTM here, but I did teach daycare for a few years. Our babies learned some sign language and I thought it was fantastic. They only learned the basics (milk, more, thank you, please) but it made communicating before that could talk so much easier. They also seemed to pick it up really fast. I plan to use it as a supplementary communication for LO when he is still unable to talk. And I think as long as you work with your child, there wouldn't be any verbal delay. In fact I think it teaches them at an earlier age to understand how communication works.

Brittnic531 · February 2014

I will be teaching my LO to sign as I am fluent in ASL and work with the birth to 3 population that are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. The important thing to remember when you are signing is to also use the word for that item (So sign and talk at the same time). I tell the families that I work with to remember that signing is a form of communication just like talking. As for signing causing speech delays... because I work with a population that is at a high risk for speech delays, everything we work towards is for that baby to have some form of communication whether it is signing or talking or both, and to be on track with their same age peers by the age of 3. We leave it up to the family to decide which route they think is best for their family and then give them strategies to reach that goal. I have heard the arguments for both sides when it comes to using signs with typical hearing children and obviously for myself and my LO, I am still choosing to use sign. Just remember that consistency is key when signing too...

I hope this makes sense... I just got home from a long day! I will be more than happy to clarify anything too.

Oh... and I almost forgot. When choosing signs, I always tell my family to start small (like 3-5 signs) and pick words that are the most important to your family and your daily routine. That's why 'mom, dad, milk, all done' are typically used as beginning signs. But that's not the case with everyone. Once you are able to use those regularly, then start adding more.

jshrop · February 2014

Thanks ladies! Your insight has been really helpful! I plan to use signing with my kiddo and just wondered what everyone's thoughts were. I was also wondering when I should start, but it sounds like 3 months is a good place to begin

hlp2709 · February 2014

The day care that I use does teach the kids how to sign. I love it. I found it was very helpful to the family.

chickpea912 · February 2014

We used a number of signs, but M was very verbal (and she still is - that might come across in the random stories I tell about her, not sure), so I don't know if baby sign language, in and of itself, causes any speech delays.

I laugh because she still signs "more" when she wants more - as she demands it verbally - and she doesn't even do it consciously. She just makes the sign as she says it, b/c it's just part of how she asks for more. I find it fascinating.

Now that baby is coming, she is refreshing her skills - she loves to show me daily how to say please, thank you, milk, and water, and she is planning on teaching her little sister.

wimb01 · February 2014

We didnt intend to, but it just sort of happened. We signed milk a lot, but her cousin has appraxia and signs a ton so she picked up a few other signs over Christmas (almost 14 months). Her favorite is please! She started signing phrases like "more milk please" or "more food please". And she has her own sign for thank you. It has definitely helped with any frustrations she would have with communicating with me. She has words that she says, but its mostly gibberish still.

Unknown · February 2014

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lifeisbetteronthered · February 2014

We sign with DD (13m). She is also becoming more verbal. It has helped a lot with her frustration when she's hungry or tired or wants milk. Both DH and I knew basic sign already (and SIL is fluent in ASL as she trained, but didn't work, as an interpreter). I would recommend it to everyone.

emandjp · February 2014

I used it very casually for a few signs I thought would be useful. One day I asked her if she wanted more and BAM, she signed it back to me! I was amazed! Now that she can say the words that she signs, she still signs them as she says them. I really love it and intend to use it even more with #2.

JBC2020 · February 2014

I can't wait to teach my son SL! I had a horrible speech impediment when I was a child and wish my parents had done signing with me. I know a decent amount of ASL now and hope to have him learn to speak and sign consecutively. It comes in handy so often.

jc51206 · February 2014

We did some baby sign language, and it was great! It was what truly helped me know that my boy had said real words! He'd been signing (his version of) "please" for quite a while, and one night while eating dinner, I swore he said "Mo fish" (more fish) and then he signed for "please". When I asked him if he asked for more fish, he signed "please" again, so I knew he'd actually said that, and included a polite word (score Mommy pride points!). It was a big deal because he did have some language delay (which I don't feel were in any way connected to introducing him to some baby sign language). Go for it!

jc51206 · February 2014

chickpea912--

Our little guy is almost 4 and still unconsciously signs for please sometimes. I always smile, I think it's adorable!

jewels1199 · February 2014

We used ASL in our house from birth with DS and will with this baby too. DS knew over 200 signs by the time he started talking and still uses ASL and english at the same time. We went with Baby Signing Time DVD's and books and I cannot rave about them enough !!! Love love love them. Hes 4 years old now and has lost some of what he knew but as we review in prep for the baby he remembers so fast, even reminds me of signs Ive forgotten !

dimitjm1 · February 2014

My son's daycare used some signs and we incorporated them, too. My son consistently used milk, more, please, thank you. At some point I think he also knew mom and dad. I plan on using signs again this time, and I'm hoping our new day care does as well. hopefully we do more this time. I found it to Beverly helpful and I don't think it delayed my son's speech at all. We always spoke the words while using the signs. My son has a great vocabulary...I credit that to not really using "baby talk" with him and reading to him a lot.

BMonroe812 · February 2014

100% our little Sawyer will be learning sign language. Both of my parents are deaf along with five other family members. Kind of a must with us

my parents had me signing at 6 months and my sister around 9 months. My nephew is now 10 months and signs milk but reacts when you sign "more" which makes me think he understands but isn't signing it just yet.

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Baby sign language

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