Baby signing - yes or no

[cathshuck]

Didnt do this with ds 2.5 but really want to with dd nearly 5 months, any tips on how to start.Have bought amazing baby signing book. Is it worth doing?

I think it's fabulous...but not all Baby's take to it!
I use Sing and Sign, and ms loved it, whilst ys didn't respond all that well at all....

my ds always without fail fell asleep when we got there so i just went for the singsong.

Our childminder started with DD (then we had to catch up) -- it's definitely worth it for a few basic signs at least (give, food, more, drink, please etc).

I've just started sing & sign. My lo doesn't really pick up the signs (it's suggested you do stage 1 twice so they pick them up) but she really enjoys it and the group is very friendly. I find it better than mum and baby groups because it has a focus so there isn't that pressure to make conversation for an hour iyswim.

My DD hasn't responded to signs at all - well she doesn't sign back at least - I'm unsure if she undertstands them because I always speak at the same time

I'm really glad I did it with ds - I took him to classes from when he was 7 months and he started signing after 8 weeks. At around 11 months the signs started coming thick and fast. Agree with nappymadmummy about it being better than mum and baby groups - it's relaxed and fun.

I found signing was great for knowing what was going on in his head before he could speak - e.g. I knew if he'd spotted a dog or cat and that was really nice - you realise just how much they notice!

Plus when he did start to talk, he'd say, e.g. "baba" for a lot of things, but as he did the sign at the same time, I knew exactly which word he was trying to say, so was able to repeat the word back to him and so reinforce his learning... that all makes it sound like I've been trying to hothouse him or something and I really really haven't, signing was just something I really enjoyed doing with him and I've seen the benefits of it.

I found lots of people were dismissive or negative about it but I really don't understand why you wouldn't do a few simple signs like "milk" or "food" - makes your life a lot easier.

DS has been going to tinytalk with dh. He has really enjoyed it and knows quite a few signs.

I did it with ds1 (who's now 4) and as I used makaton at work really enjoyed it. He picked it up very quickly and it was very useful (the sign for pain especially). His language however was very slow coming, took a long while to get him to say the word instead of just using the sign. Didn't do it with ds2 though and he talked much earlier, vocabulary at 13 months was probably 10x ds1's. Whether this was due to the noisier house, ds1 or other external stuff though I don't know.

I loved the sing and sign dvd though and my ds's still ask to watch it now!

We did Sing and Sign with DS (now 2.2) and will do it with DC2. I think we both really enjoyed it and I know it really helped DS communicate with us. It was very exciting when he was signing his colours before 18 months which I put down to the Rainbow song.

He still asks to listen to the CDs when we're in the car although I should think by the time DC2 is ready for it he'll not want to listen to them!

I used it with ds (I use BSL at work) and at 3.2 he loves learning new signs. It's great at the non-verbal stage to aid communication but I just also like the fact that he knows a few signs.

I really can't see why there could be a problem with this.

loved it with dd1, (not the Sing and Sign classes particularly as it was one more place where I sat and sang badly and she ran round like loon) started at 6 months and got nothing back until 13 months but then just took off. Fantastic for the 6 months between 12 and 18 months when they really want to tell you stuff and cant. Didnt bother with classes for dd2 jsut did it myself but she is 11 months and just this week started signing 'bird' and 'milk' to me. Would recommend the DVDs (if you can cope with slightly scary woman on them - may not be same signs as in your book as doesnt seem to be standard baby signing system) as dd1 picked up lots of signs from them that I wasnt necessarily doing. Signs like hot v useful and hurts, and all gone, and all the animal signs for when you look at books. Fell in with a bunch of mums I met at sing and sign with dd1 and actually found it quite odd when was with kids that didnt sign and couldnt speak as had got used to being able to communicate with non verbal toddlers.

We Use BSL signs with DS. Its been great. He started signing at us at 8 months, we started signing a few words with him almost from birth and useing a lot more signs from 6 months.
Now hes 22 months , talking english a fair bit, 1 or 2 words at a time, normal for his age. he still uses some signs and combines them with english. so uses sign where as can't yet say where. HAs been V usefull, esp as someone else says in that tricky 12-24 month period when their comprehension is WAy above their vocal abillity. We have had games and chats with boy in sign and english about tractors, dogs, cars, motorbikes etc.he likes being able to draw our attention to the correct things with out a long guessing game.
Both Dh and I use BSL and english, like any language a child will only learn to use it if their adults use it consistantly and often.
If boy grews up even slightly bi-lingual BSL/english we will be delighted.

We do it and it is just amazing to see DD expressing herself. Today she even corrected herself, after signing "help me" rather than "more" to get more of the dancing bear toy she has (you need to press his paw...)

i always wanted to do this and despite my best intentions never really carried it through, finding it easier to just e.g. latch him on instead of signing ´milk´ first and then doing it iykwim. He´s almost 9 months old now, do you think it´s still worthwhile trying, at least milk, more, all done, food? How long does it take to sink in, a couple of months??

I don't know much about it but have a feeling I'm against it

see I think it would be really helpful, my ds is growing up in a trilingual home and although it might seem like another confusing aspect I actually think it might help him to express himself when he is not sure what the word is in the ´right´ language.

We did it and I think dd had less tantrums than other babies her age because she could sign to me when she wanted more, had enough, wanted milk. She could also tell me where something hurt as she learnt that sign fairly early on. Also, the first words that she signed were amongst the first words she said.

It is worth doing. Can you go to a class? It makes it quite good fun that way. You do have to preserve though and tbh, we only learnt relevant signs, not all the ones we could possibly have learnt (such as animals, vehicles etc).

Still worth doing maveta, I didn't start with dd until she was about 8 months and she probably picked it up quicker than the younger babies.

Why against it Mrsruffalo, especially if you don't know anything about it?

thanks, that´s really encouraging. what sign did you use for pain? the one I saw was pointing the two index fingers at each other over the spot that hurt. was that it?

that's the one. And you sort of do a sharp intake of breath when you do it iyswim. Am doing it now, can you see?

Its fantastic I did it with ds1 and by the time he was 16 months he was doing about 60 signs. He was a lot calmer and rarely had tantrums. I went to Tiny Talk classes which were great for meeting new friends too. Am now teaching it to ds2 but live in a different area where there's no classes. If anyone knows of any in near lincs/cambs border let me know

cathshuck : it's great and really worthwhile.

If you speak to any speech therapist who's up to date with current research then they will back up the findings that baby signing improves baby's communication.

The window of baby's beginning to sign is usually between 10-14 months, so if you've been signing for a while and not seen anything back, then persevere.

Once a baby can clap and point, then they can sign.

What parent doesn't teach their baby to wave? Another sign!

So just expand the vocab slightly. You don't need millions of signs and they don;t have to follow a book or a course (although they're a good start).

Just make up stuff, keep it consistent and ALWAYS say the word or phrase at the same time - never sign in silence, because it's not a language - it's extra gestures and actions.

Both my 2 did their first signs around about 9 months and got about a dozen or so in regular use. But as soon as they could say the words, the signs were dropped.

Ds and dd were both early and competent talkers. And pretty chilled out because they didn't get frustrated as much - I knew when they were "finished" or wanted milk or wanted to go home or were looking for something.

lol twofalls - so do you do the sign in the middle of the air (iyswim) or over the part of their body that you think hurts?

You do both really. You ask where does it first (doing the sign) Then you do it over the bit you think hurts whilst asking them the question. Much easier when I do it than explain it

It takes a while but it does in now. DD still does the sign over the bit that hurts and now asks for calpol at the same time!

Sorry, "it does go in".

Yes, it's definitely worth doing. DS, 2.4, is very verbal these days and speaks in full sentences but still signs when he says 'bird' and 'duck'

It was a huge help before he could talk well.