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Baby Sign Language

oursong611oursong611 member
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months
If you have used sign language with any of your babies, when did you start? What tips and tricks do you have to share? My son (he's two months old) frequently says "no," and waves his hands at me when he gets frustrated, like he's trying to tell me something. He will mimic my actions if I wave at him, so I'm wondering if it might be a good time to start signing with him. He's my first, so other than practicing with kids I babysit (who already know how to sign), I don't have any experience with this. All tips are appreciated! Thanks
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Re: Baby Sign Language

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    Ahlome08Ahlome08 member
    You could start...but I don't think they start comprehending things we tell them until around 7 months, or even later. It wouldn't hurt to start, but don't get frustrated when he can't communicate because he's too young. At this age, babies usually communicate through different cries, and a few small gestures, but I don't think at 2 months they are able to learn how to tell you something.
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    ashiscuteashiscute member
    My DD has a speech disorder so we were adamant we wanted to teach DS sign right off the bat.  We started around 6 or 7 mos with a few basic signs.  He didn't pick them up for awhile after that and he has great verbal skills.  

    You can start now but your child is WAY too young to grasp what you're doing.  
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    poofwokpoofwok member
    Nicb13 said:
    2 months old? Really....?

    Ditto. Much too early.
    *************
    First BFP: 12/16/13
    EDD: 08/23/14
    Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
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    oursong611oursong611 member
    I figure it is probably too early, but he's a big baby blowing through milestones left and right. I hardly feel like I can keep up with him. He's already cut a tooth, scoots himself all over his crib whether he's on his tummy or back, pushing himself up to the point that his arms are fully extended and locked, and he's already trying to sit up :p. If I wave at him, he'll study my hand for a minute and wave back at me, so I thought it might be worth a try, even though it takes awhile for babies to pick it up. 
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    oursong611oursong611 member
    I'm definitely not trying to push him and I'm definitely enjoying him as a baby. I'm a teacher and I have a background in psychology, so I get the brain stuff. I'm not in any rush for him to grow up, I was just curious what other people were doing. 
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    mfsunshine222mfsunshine222 member

    I was a deaf education major in college and you should 100% start signing now!  Of course your LO will not understand what you are doing, but the sooner you start giving the sign for "milk" before he gets a bottle/boob, or sign "mommy" when you walk into a room and he sees you the first time the faster he will pick up that those motions mean something.  Also move his hands to make the signs, and of course speak the words too, all this will help him correlate the signs with objects/actions.

    I'm not sure how familiar you are with sign language but don't go overboard right now.  My son is 12 weeks old and I have been consistently doing 5 signs with him since birth (mommy, daddy, milk, toilet/potty ((before a diaper change)), and book.

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    megsandjohnmegsandjohn member
    We love baby signing and did it with our first two! I don't remember exactly when we started, but I know they started signing back around 8-9 months and by then we had been doing it for a few months, just starting with simple ones like "milk" and "change". The feeding signs are really helpful, such as "all done", "more", "eat", "drink" etc. I'm a huge advocate for baby signing! It eliminates so much frustration of not knowing what your baby wants. And the myth that it delays speech is completely false!

     

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    oursong611oursong611 member
    Thanks everyone! I have started trying out a few (mommy, daddy, milk, more, all done), and if nothing else, he seems to love watching me move my hands. He gets all excited and starts moving his too, so I think he'll like it once he is old enough to use it. 
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    tbarker14tbarker14 member
    I know babies have started signing at 6 months of age. Granted those babies come from deaf parents. So they are exposed to sign language from day one.
    With that being said, I've been signing to our DD since day one. Granted I haven't been doing so at each feeding but I do so quite a lot.
    There is no harm in starting language exposure very early. Any language exposure at an early age is always better.
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    ConversationFearConversationFear member
    edited November 2014
    Our little guy has been putting his fist to his mouth in a quick motion to show hunger since birth. That's about the only "signing" he has done, but it helps us out a lot (especially through growth spurts when his feeding schedule isn't as rigid). As bad as it sounds, it's a little funny when he's pissed and really hungry because he gestures too big and it looks more like he's slapping himself on the forehead, lol. :p

     

     

     

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