Baby Sign Language

I wanted to see if you used baby sign language. If you did, when did you start working with your child. Also, when was your child able to use it (at what age). If they were in daycare, how did your care providers feel about it (did they use it, etc).

Thanks for any info.

Traci

I sign with my twins. I started ~ 6 months when they were sitting up well and were starting to be really interactive and interested in what was going on around them.

I started with 3 signs and used them over and over- Milk, More, and Bed. ~ 9months old there were consistantly signing Milk and Bed (when they were tired, ready for a nap).
I started to add a few more signs, but by 12 months, they were starting to speak more words and signing less so I shifted my focus to teching them the words for things rather than the sign.

Overall it was really helpful and I plan to use the same techniques with my baby boy.

I know some people have tried it and have been highly successful... however, one of my best friends relied on it so heavily that her daughter is now 3.5 and has delayed speech. I don't know if it's because of the sign language, or because she plops her down in front of the TV for hours every day because she has 3 other kids to fret over. Either way, I think verbalizing, interaction, and using "proper" language instead of baby talk is the way to go.

Traci I wanna say Courtney (triplemom) does with matty. Don't quote me on that but I remember her typing that once send her a pm.
Jessica

You are correct! We do use it, and love it!

Probably going to get pounced on for this, but I'm being honest. If your baby does not have a cognitive delay of some sort, and there are no other deaf children in the house, then I really don't see the point. It was primarily used for children with speech delays, to reduce their frustration level and help them communicate. There is no guarantee that all his daycare and school teachers will even be familiar with the all the signals.
My daughter recieved early intervention due to a speech delay when she was 2 and was taught 3 basic words in sign language. I think after they are in elementary school for a couple years, and they want to learn sighn language then I think that's different. But using it as a primary form of communication while infants and toddlers, I think, is an un-needed step in the wrong direction. I think you will get a lot of differing opinions on this question.

i dont think that she ment for it to be used as a primary form of communication- a child who cant express them self besides crying is very frustrating for mom and baby..

Amen to that!

Hey there,
By no means is Baby Signs or any other signing program meant as a sole form of communication. It is meant to ease frustration and help your child communicate their needs without whining, tantrums, biting, and hitting. Studies show that teaching children music, signing and other languages (signing does count as a language as would Spanish or any other lang.) actually stimulates and improves cognitive development, so there is a point. Even ifthe point is just that it means that Lydia can sign for milk, bathtime, sleep, doll, or daddy without having to whine, I'm alllll for it.  I do have a friend whos son is developmentally delayed and they are using baby signs, too. It's pretty touching to see him be able to communicate with at least one other child in his life who understands his signing.
She is 15 months now, acquiring new signs every week, and a pretty happy kiddo.

Jessica is correct, we do use baby signs! I used it with the triplets because they where delayed in speech because they were premies, it helped us to avoid much frustration! I personally believe that it bridges a gap for some babies who don't tal****il they are older, and gives them a way to communicate, leading to less guessing on our part and less tantrums on their parts. I also like it because I can still sign to my 8 year olds from across the room and they know what I want or need for them to do (or cut out if they are misbehaving LOL).

With Matty I started doing it around six months old, I always use the sign and say the word (for somethings we use actual sign langage and for others we just make them up), and at around 9 months old he started using several to let me know what he wants. At 14 months he has about 10 words that he can say, but he has almost 20 signs that he can use. It truly helps us avoid frustration on both of our parts because he is able to communicate with me what he wants or needs. We mainly use the signs: love, hug, all done, milk, sleep, eat, hold, please, thank you, more, sister, brother, mommy and daddy.

Some people swear by the book Baby Sign's, but really you can find everything in it for free on the internet. If you google sign langage you will find a ton of websites that have vidoes and pictures of how to sign each word. After a while it just becomes second nature to sign and say the word as you are speaking to them.