Baby Sign Language

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   kathynposted 15 years ago

   Has anyone taught Baby Signs(R) to their child.  I would love to hear from anyone who has taught baby sign language to their baby and what your results were?  Would you recommend it to other moms?   Please share....

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      ediggityposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, it works great, and gives the child a way to express themselves without getting frustrated.  It was way easier than I thought it would be.  Start with more, please, all done, eat, and drink.

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      Rosa Bergerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I wholeheartedly support the use of sign languange. It is very uncomplicated since you only need a few signs: eat, drink, etc. It takes a lot of the frustration out of not knowing whether the child wants to eat, drink, play, or sit in your lap.
      
      I did not see any interference with spoken language at all. To the contrary, my child transitioned effortlessly into saying please and thank you. Maybe because people always fussed over her when she signed please and thank you. I had to explain what she was doing and more than once she was the center of attention of a whole store because she was so well-mannered even before she could speak.

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      Veronica Allenposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I've taught both my toddlers (one just turned two, the other will be five soon) baby sign language. I thought the experience was great. They were able to express themselves with little frustration, they seemed to communicate faster than their peers, and it was a great way to bond with them.

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   H.C Porterposted 15 years ago

   Yes-I have been signing with both my children since day 1. I have not been forceful with trying to get them to use it-I just signed when I said certain things or when they would be pointing-I would point and sign as I verbalized what they were asking for. Ediggity is right when saying it gives them away to express themselves and eliminates allot of the frustration that they feel when they can’t get adults to understand them. My son is 27 months, and has a tendency to sign random words and uses hand gestures when he talks now. When I first started using signs with him, I worried he wouldn’t verbalize things-so far that hasn't been our experience with him, during his physical our doctor said he has the vocabulary of a 4 year old.

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   rmcrayneposted 15 years ago

   As a school-based and early intervention therapist, I have heard the reservation many times that signing might discourage a child from speaking.  Same as HC Porter, that was not my experience either. 
   
   I think children either have a strong desire to communicate or they don't.  I had a client once who had been diagnosed with selective mutism.  The parents and I believed she may have had something else going on, possibly a neurological disorder.  She had the desire to communicate. I think a child who does not want to communicate will not respond to sign language either.

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   kathynposted 15 years ago

   Thanks for your posts!! Yes, a lot of parents feel that if their baby signs before talking that it will hinder their desire to talk.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Baby Signs has been researched and it was found that babies who signed in the control group vs. babies who did not sign had a higher IQ. It also improves the parent baby bond and it helps babies to feel empowered!! We All could use a feeling of empowerement every now and again!!!

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   Crazdwriterposted 15 years ago

   My husband and I both have agreed to use baby sign language when we have children of our own in the future.  I think it's brilliant.

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   kathynposted 15 years ago

   I like what Rosa said....that the baby was so fussed over when she signed....yeah! what a great motivator for her to sign even more.

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      Rosa Bergerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      To this day, saying please and thank you comes naturally to my child. She often serves as an example to her friends in this respect. There has never been a phase where I had to encourage her to say this. It seems that she naturally transitioned from sign language to spoken language.

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   Luciendaskyposted 15 years ago

   I never thought of it before, but I think it would be highly beneficial!

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      Pearldiverposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Especially if you can train them in the art of cleaning non-disposable nappies with just a wink instead of a squark!

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