I am interested in teaching my daughter sign language. I don’t think she is old enough yet, but if any parents out there taught their children to sign, how old were they when you started? Can you recommend a good book on teaching young children sign language?
My daughter is 15 weeks old, or 3 1/2 months.
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I’ll be watching what answers you get. I’ve been meaning to ask this question, too. A nurse that I spoke to last week actually told me that I could start now (my son is 3.5 months), and I was really surprised!! So I, too, am curious at what age other parents started.
My son started at 7 months at daycare. I thought it was stupid at first, but it is amazing. He is now 2 1/2 and he still uses it. Try its great.
I’m starting too. They have books on this all over.. you can find them anywhere. They say you shouldn’t start until the baby is around 8 months.. when you see they are using their hands and can comprehend what you are saying/doing. It takes patience..
I am working on it with my daughter. She is 10 months, and I started with her around 6 months, but I wasn’t consistent with it until recently. The only sign she does is “milk,” but I sign to her a lot.
What I haven’t decided is if it’s best to focus on one sign at a time or just use as many as I can in my normal conversations with her. For now I’m using multiple signs, but I may try focusing on one at a time if she doesn’t pick up more signs soon!
never too young she will suck up. thats how babies learn. do it start now.
You didnt mention how old your daughter is, but I dont think that matters – it is never too early. My daughter began learning baby sign language when she started going to daycare when she had just turned 1 year old. She caught on so quick – within just a couple weeks she was using the signs that they were teaching her. It was such a huge help in understanding what she wanted – the first signs they taught her were: more, all done, eat, drink, milk, please, thank you and even though she can now talk (she is almost 2), she still uses signs, usually in conjuction with her words. At her daycare there are babies as young as 4 or 5 months who use the sign language, so I highly suggest you go for it! As far as books, I dont know any in particular, but I think any of them would due – just practice, practice, practice and be consistent and she WILL catch on. Since my daughter learned to sign and I realized that not ALL babies can communicate in that way, I have been trying to get the word out on how great it really is and how it really bridges that gap in communication during the ages when they cant verbally tell you what they need/want. GOOD LUCK…
My son is 4.5 months, we started a month ago. Here is a good site with lots of links for books. http://signingbaby.com
Right now, my baby is still too young to sign back, but the intention is that the earlier you start, the sooner baby will sign back to you. Don’t be worried about starting too soon. Babies of deaf parents start straight away and they are fine. Start with a few simple signs, like mommy daddy baby milk more change or teddy. Most books say to start with between 3-12 signs, whatever you are comfortable with. I found a set called sing sign and play at the book store that has a song book and flash cards to help teach baby(and myself lol). Another good idea is to get an American sign language browser because as baby gets older he/she will want/need more signs. Here’s one http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Good luck!
You can start now. I’m planning on starting right away with my newborn. Babies are sponges for the information all around them. There’s no harm in introducing sign before they can imitate it.
Hi,
I’m just in the early stages of teaching my son Josh some baby sign language but I’m impressed with what he has learnt very quickly and how useful and reassuring it is for me and my husband to know what he is thinking.
It’s absolutely amazing to see that now, instead of just crying when he is hungry, he will make the sign for ‘food’ so we know exactly what he wants. He can also give the sign for ‘more’and is starting to use the sign for ‘drink’. And all of this is in just a few weeks!
We also like the fact that learning baby sign language apparently leads to children having a higher IQ, having better self esteem and being able to learn faster as they get older.
I am using a baby signing course I found online which includes ebooks, audio and videos. The videos have been particularly useful because I get to actually see exactly how each sign should be done and how it should be taught to Josh. The course is at http://www.easybabysignlanguage.com if you’d like to take a look.
Baby sign language does take a bit of effort, but it’s very rewarding and reassuring so I can fully recommend you give it a try.
Ally