Every mom wants the best for her child. As a new mom there are so many things you want to do to give your baby every advantage in life. One of the best things you can do to help your baby learn is to teach your baby sign language.
Baby sign language is not just for hearing impaired children. All babies can benefit from the pre-language skills that they will learn from baby signing. Baby sign language has been proven to increase children’s vocabulary and decrease the frustration of both child and parent when trying to communicate at an early age.
There are several books available that can help you teach your baby sign language. You can learn the basic signs for things in your baby’s everyday life. Meal times are a good time to practice baby sign language and teach your baby the signs for things like “more”, “eat”, “please”, and “thank you”.
Babies also love learning the signs for animals and things they see outside like “dog”, “fish”, “airplane”, and “flower”. It is fun to be able to communicate with your little one in this way and they will be so proud when they know you understand them.
Baby sign language books are great for learning the basics of signing with your baby but you can also get baby signing dvds and videos that you can watch with your baby to make the learning fun and easy. There are a few different ones available. The best baby sign language dvd set I’ve found is the Signing Time series.
Signing Time was created by Rachel Coleman whose daughter Leah is deaf. Rachel teaches you and your baby sign language with lots of upbeat music and lyrics. She performs the songs herself as she signs while Leah and Leah’s cousin Alex act out stories that are funny and help you remember the sign language as well.
Your older children will love watching this sign language dvd series as well. Kids will enjoy doing the signs and can learn to read the words that they are signing too. The Signing Time company also makes sign language board books with wonderful illustrations of the signs for easy review. They also have music cds with the songs from the dvds so that you and your child can practice the signs along with the music anywhere you can bring your cd player.
My children and I have enjoyed the benefits of learning baby sign language and I hope you and your family do too.
When teaching babies sign language, it’s helpful to have a baby sign language chart for quick reference of commonly used signs. This laminated chart is great for use with babies and small children as it easily wipes off for quick cleaning and folds up for simple storage.
Signing with your baby can be fun and rewarding for both child and adult. Joseph Garcia’s DVD and quick reference guide can give you the materials you need to learn sign language and teach it to your baby.
Since 2004, Baby Sign Language Basics has introduced hundreds of thousands of families and educators around the world to the miracle of signing with their babies—and left them wanting more!
Now in this new, bigger edition, Monta Briant provides more than 300 American Sign Language (ASL) signs, illustrated with the same clear, easy-to-understand photos and descriptions. Baby-specific signing techniques, songs, and games are also included to make learning fun and open up two-way communication quickly.
This book is a must-read for all parents, grandparents, and anyone else who spends time with preverbal children. After all, what parent or caregiver doesn’t want to know what their baby is trying to tell them?
Has anyone taught their baby sign language and if so, did it help the baby communcate with you before they could talk? In other words did it really work?
I’m an American Sign Language major, and for a research paper, I focused on my adopted baby brother who is now 8 months old (adopted at 1 month). I used signs to back up my spoken word and actions with him, and now he’s able to use them to communicate. For example: If I’m eating something, he’ll sign the word "FOOD". He can also sign: MORE, DIRTY, YES, PLEASE… I’ve found that learning these signs helps him to understand how language works. In comparison to my cousin, who is a 9 month old female without ASL knowledge, my brother asks for food before he cries because of hunger and uses sign language to get our attention. He enjoys the reaction he gets from other adults when he signs which seems to motivate him to learn and use sign.
Does anyone know of a good book or web-site concerning teaching a young child sign language? Does anyone have a positive experience with this? I would love to teach signs to my son, but will have to learn them, as well!
Thanks
Mysmarthands.com
This is a great website to learn more about getting started with baby sign language. There are links so you can download movies for $2 each (this is WAY cheaper than everything else I found) and you can watch the founders daughter show off her skills (free). They have a facebook page and they have established classes around the country for moms and babies learning sign language. My daughter is 5 months and I am planning on teaching her some sign language also.
PS. I hear that this helps ease some of the frustration for a toddler when they cannot vocally communicate what they need.
I have a 4 month old baby girl and i heard that baby sign language can help motor skills move along quicker.It will also cause less frustration to you and your baby because they can get their point across even if they cant talk.what are your thoughts and do you think its to early for me to start with my daughter?
it’s FABULOUS! sign language IS a language and can be used later in life if they have deaf friends or family.
i have used it with ALL my kids. it’s so cool when I’m feeding my daughter and i ask her if she wants more, while doing the sign…she tells me “more” or “no” in sign language..or she uses her sign for “juice” if she wants something to drink.
we also use the signs for book, play,dog,brother,mom,dad,yes and hungry.
it’s very cool!
my daughter is 15 months old. my sons are 11 and 9…and they use the sign language w/her as well.
I’m currently pregnant..and i will continue to use sign language.
i DO stop using the sign language at 2 yrs of age and focus more on the verbal communication, otherwise they tend to prefer sign language to talking…but other than that, it’s a great communication tool to use w/your little one.
What are some experiences that anyone’s had with teaching their babies sign language? Also what sources did you find the most useful…books, websites…?
Our family knows some basic ASL signs, and I used those to teach my nearly ten month old daughter some sign language. The most important thing is repetition when teaching, and so a simple sign language book and repeating the sign over and over again is all you need-not expensive DVDs or the like.
Gwendalyn can sign momma, daddy, milk, sleepy and no as if in conversation, and if I say several other words she can make the sign for them (though I do not think she really comprehends their meaning yet).
And, before someone else answers stating otherwise, it does NOT delay their speech. You use sign language in addition to speech, not in place of it. Gwendalyn can also say momma, daddy, no, doggy, bye bye, hi, thank you (tantu), that, up and bubba (for her brother, though she does not address her sister yet, much to my oldest daughter’s dismay) and probably several others that are escaping me right now.
EDITED TO ADD: Oh no! She also says “oh no”, usually after dropping something that she wants you to pick up…
or babies and children I recommend Signing Time videos, flashcards and books. You can access these by going to http://www.mysmarthands.com/Site/Signing_Time.html
And finally for an amazing information site on baby sign language visit:
http://www.learnbabysigning.com
http://www.thebeststartclub.com
Baby Signing Language a form of gestural communication. This very simple form of communication allows baby to understand and be understood long before speech develops in babies. Sign to baby whilst speaking allows baby the experience of seeing the “word” and hearing the word at the same time which enhances their absorption of language.
This is a very natural way to promote speech and early communication between parent and child.
In this video you will see many babies signing with their families. It’s simple, it’s effective and magical to watch.
Whilst these babies are using ASL many of these signs are also the same as BSL.
Aren’t they wonderful!
For UK classes contact http://www.thebeststartclub.com
We hold classes across Hertfordshire, including St Albans, Welwyn Garden City, Hertford, Watford, Hitchin, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Ware, Harpenden.
We are also presenters for Sign with your Baby.
For international classes see:
Copyright Sign with your Baby / Sign2Me
http://www.signwithyourbaby.com
http://www.sign2me.com
British Sign Language and Makaton, Baby Sign Language, We specialise in teaching programmes for Early Years Development – promoting speech, musical learning, language aquisition and communication though the media of music, rhyme, dance, stories and play.
We are also teachers of the worlds leading music programme – Kindermusik
I have a 7 month old. My husband and I have talked about teaching him sign language. We have read the benefits of this. We bought the Baby Einstein’s My First Signs DVD this weekend. We do not know where to start.
I started about a month ago. Still waiting for my 8.5 month old to make a sign, LOL! But it’s all about patience (plus, 7 – 8 months is a good time to start signing but don’t expect results right away). Here’s what I did / do:
I bought the DVD and book from Joseph Garcia. Check out Amazon.com. He’s a recognized “expert” in teaching babies sign language based on American Sign Language (I’m sure the Baby Einstein is based on the same sign language so probably no need to buy another DVD).
First, I chose the 3 signs (as he suggested) I wanted to start with. I did this for 2 reasons:
1. To keep it simple for the baby: too many signs and they will get confused.
2. To keep it simple for me! LOL! In the beginning I found I forgot to make the signs.
Since consistency is key start with just a few. The signs I chose were “eat,” “milk” and “cat” (because we have one and I thought I would be cute for her to sign it!). After they start making these signs you can start to add more.
Then, each time we go to eat I make the sign at her eye level and say the word (making sure she sees me do it). I also make the sign/say the word while she is eating. I do the same each time she has a bottle and each time the cat comes around.
Again, consistency and patience are key. Think of it as something fun to do and not a must-have.
http://www.mysmarthands.com
http://www.thebeststartclub.com
