i know my 2 month old is too young yet but how old (or young) can a baby start learning baby signs (to help with communication, not for deafness or deaf family members)?
anybody tried it? what did you think of it and how did it work for you?
thanks.
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when baby starts mimicking you. after enough repetition, baby will make the connection between the sign and whatever the sign is for.
I started around the time my son was hold enough to sit up in a high chair to eat (4-6 months??). When I asked him if he was hungry or thirsty or when I was holding food or a bottle, I would make the sign at the same time. I only taught him 3 signs: food, drink/milk, and more (as in more food, more milk). It helped so much because he learned pretty quickly and he could tell me what he wanted instead of just grunting or crying. I’ll do it again when my 2nd baby is born and I plan on teaching more (sleepy, peepee/dirty diaper, etc). I’d recommend every parent teach at least a few signs to their baby to help with communication.
You can start showing them signs from birth. Just like speaking they start to absorb it from a very young age. My daughter started signing back to me at 6 months. We only used about ten different signs but it really helped communication and was fun.
I heard around 5 months they can learn sign language. I tried teaching my son and he would not do it. My son’s uncle (who is only 4 haha) is partially deaf so I picked up on some of his signs and tried teaching my son who has no problem with hearing when he was 4-5 months old. He did not want to learn it. Now he is 14 months old and started talking he only says mama,dada, and doggie but he learned how to sign “more” when he wants more food or drink etc.
Start signing with your baby as soon as possible. If you sign hungry while you say it your baby will start to understand the two as the same. Just like any other language, the earlier the better and repetition is key. I know you said this is not related to deafness in any way, but I have seen hearing babies with deaf parent/s start to sign as early as four months. However, these babies were introduced to signs from day one. So, start now!
While I haven’t tried it myself, I have many friends who are hearing (interpreters) use it with their hearing children and they love it.