[cxk04d]

Anyone use baby sign language with their children?

[mumofone]

We used it with our youngest before he could verbalize. He learned the signs very quickly. It cuts down on the frustration.

[kelceesmom]

We used it because my daughter did not even starting talking until almost 2 years old and very limited at that.

[One_Happy_Momma]

DD1's daycare had sign language integrated in her program, so she learned sign language before she was verbal - about 15 different words in sign before she was 12 months.

[thanksgivingmom]

I'm not a huge fan, though I do understand the good points. My nephews signed and it was very challenging if someone else was watching them - grandparents, me, new babysitter, etc. They were able to say specific things they wanted, not just that they were hungry, etc. It was a whole new kind of frustration for us.

I also get concerned that kids feel they DON'T need to learn to speak because they can rely on the sign language.

Like I said, I really see the benefits, but i'm not totally sold on it.

[bbyfaith]

I'm not a mommy....yet...but do have some input.

My sister is deaf, so I am a tried and true example of a baby signing before they speak...I picked it up as my sister was signing. Signed before I spoke, and my mom DID have to ask me to "use my words" WITH signs to get what I wanted when I was developmentally at a point where I knew how to speak, but wouldn't. Stubborn little one I was!

My sister has two little girls, one is 3 the other 15mo. The 15mo old is learning a few words and signs as well. The 3 year old speaks very well and clearly but signs just as well.

Personally, I think its great to expose kids to sign...it gives them a way to communicate before they're developmentally able to speak AND decreases frustration. BUT when they're able to speak, vocalization has to be encouraged. Its like having a mom who speaks spanish with a dad who speaks english...you have to do both at once, not one or the other, and then the child is bilingual.

...Just my 2 cents!

[thanksgivingmom]

Yes, bbyfaith! I think it's GREAT exposure, and I don't discount that at all! If you're teaching signing the same as you would any bilingual child I think it's amazingly wonderful. Thanks for helping me clarify my point by pointing that out

[bbyfaith]

You're Welcome!

[kelceesmom]

bbyfaith has said it perfectly. For us WE needed a way to talk to Kelcee as she wasn't speaking at a late stage either. It definately needs to be a monitored thing.

[Lilly's Mommy]

We used basic signs with Lilly (eat, more, drink, all done, help) and it definitely cut down on her frustration and ours. We decided we could survive if she didn't have signs for refrigerator, hat and everything else under the sun (though she has now learned many of those along with the words thanks to Baby E).

The book I read, called Baby Signs, actually said that studies showed that children who learned signs generally spoke sooner than those who did not. I'm sure that there are exceptions, but that was our experience as well. It was a great tool for the time when she knew what she wanted but didn't yet have the skills to verbalize in words.

[mrsdatabits]

We, too, used baby sign with our DD and she actually was speaking quite well at a youngish age. We don't neccesarrily attribute it to the signing as we think she is just very verbal anyway. We've always used the sign as an addition to verbal communication, as in we'd sign and say the word at the same time. For DD, it was more a way for her to communicate with us before she could really speak. Like Lilly's Mommy, we just used basic signs (more, done, hungry, please) and some less basic like train (we have tracks right behind our house) and bird. DD doesn't sign so much anymore (and we don't either) now that she's a pretty good talker. She does still use the sign for please and occasionally more, but she'll use them in conjunction with the verbal word. I do think it helped cut down on her frustration and ours, but also know kids and parents survived before baby sign became popular! I believe its more the desire to communciate and understand what the baby is saying more than it is anything to do with the signing (if that makes sense!).

[specialk4b]

We're in a little different situation, but we're using signs with our 2-1/2 year old we just brought home from China. He has a cleft palate and his language is a little difficult to understand and there are sounds he just can't seem to make. Sometimes his speach is so indistinct that we can't tell what he's trying to say. The signs help us to know better what he's trying to say.

[redbonec]

I loved doing the baby signs with K! Started around 8 months, she signed her first at almost 11 months, and kept going.

A friend said she didn't do it because the children then rely on signs instead of speaking. I am glad I didn't listen to that, because we kept doing signs, and K says many words now at 19 months, and new ones everyday. I don't think doing signs helped or hindered her speaking. Mostly, it was just so much FUN more than anything.

Now, she has dropped the signs for words she speaks (which I miss!), but still signs for other things. It has been neat because K loves it when we understand what she is trying to communicate (whether by speech or signing), so it was just great for the signs to be able to help her with that.

One interesting thing, she has come up with a couple signs on her own. A couple months ago, we heard an owl outside. I told her what it was, and showed her a picture. Next day, I mentioned the owl and K would put her index finger in the air and wave it back and forth. Any time she has heard me say the word owl, or seen a picture, she does the same thing. Neat how she came up with her own sign.

Really, like I said, it was fun more than anything--I think we all enjoyed it.

K also enjoyed the Baby Einstein My First Signs video.

[sbaglio]

My 2 year old niece had constitutive language delay (meaning she was a late bloomer), and my sister taught her sign language before we found this out. Though she could communicate with my sister (and not really with the rest of us, since we didn't know all the signs she used), she really had to be encouraged to verbalize. The fact that she was slightly delayed didn't help matters. So I agree that sign language can have some advantages if used, but vocalization/verbalization definitely needs to be encouraged at the appropriate age.

[ChromaKelly]

Yes! We signed with our girls (2.5 yr old twins) and it's been a great thing. We used the Signing Time DVD's. They love them, still love to watch them. I would say they each know over 100 signs by now. It really did cut down on the frustration around 12-18 months. Plus, when they did start talking, I knew what they were saying because they could do the sign along with the word. For instance, I knew if "buh" meant "ball" or "baby".
I highly, highly recommend getting the first three volumes of Signing Time to start. As a bonus, the DVD's really keep them entertained.