Baby signs? has anyone tried it?

[smomom]

I was just curious if anyone had read the book, "Baby Signs" or any other book which discusses signing with your baby. If you have tried signing can you let me know how it went - and other information such as the age you started, what book you used as a reference, etc.

thanks so much!

[JulieL]

Go back a few pages and you will see the last messages on signing. I have the book Sign With Your Baby by Joseph Garcia. It uses ASL signs, which is the American Sign Language. Baby Signs from what I understand encourages you to make your own. I just have used one sign, eat w/my DS. I have used it for several months and he has never signed back to me, but I am sure he understands. I am now using more as of recently. I just ordered the Signing Time videos and hope they will be help to my and my DS, as far as doing the signs correctly and for learning purposes. Each child really vares so much in development. Some kids just don't talk much, because of choice, but boy can they understand you! So don't put a general expectation on you child. It'll just make you crazy, well at least it drove me insane! Hope that helps!

-JulieL
mama to Anthony 3/23/02

[AngelaS]

I read the book Baby Signs adn I HIGHLY recommend it! I started signing with dd #1 when she was about 10/11 months old. By the time she was 2 she had 60 signs in her vocabulary and was an AWESOME communicator! It's a wonderful thing to be able to clearly communicate with your baby who doesn't talk yet.

[egoldber]

Here's the link to the previous discussion: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID30/629.html

If you can find a class, I really recommend it. Sarah really enjoyed it and it is helpful.

HTH,

[hbangthompson]

We also used this book and it is so great! We started it when he was about 9 months, and he didn't respond so we sort of slacked off. But then, right after his 1st birthday, he signed back about 4 of the words we'd shown him all within a matter of 2 days. Since then, it takes him about a week or less to learn a new sign. One problem we've run into with this book is that it's not particularly comprehensive - we run across words we'd like to teach him and there isn't a sign for it in the book. But it has cut down on frustration with eating and just day to day things so much!! I think you just have to be patient.

[Karenn]

I just wanted to add that Colin made his first sign today! We've been signing "all done" for a couple of months and today he started doing it consistently. (He did it a couple times yesterday, but we thought that might be a fluke.) I'm very excited. :) We used Garcia's book and started around 6.5 months.

[juliasdad]

I went back and forth on both books ("Baby Signs" and Garcia's book), reading review after review, until I actually went to the bookstore and saw Baby Signs in person.

You know, there are a number of people who wrote very negative reviews of Baby Signs for the single reason that "it isn't ASL". It turns out that's not exactly true; at least, in the current edition, the vast majority of the signs presented are indeed ASL. They just don't see the need to stick to ASL completely because there are some signs which are just too mechanically complex, or too removed from physical analogy of the intended subject, for an infant to be successful with. But there's still a lot of ASL there. And I personally agree with that approach.

Heck, we don't even use proper English on an infant all the time ("baby want binkie?", etc.), so why people would get up in arms about a deviation from ASL is beyond me. These same people are no doubt using the term "blankie", "jammies", and other intermediary terms which will eventually be substituted by their proper names later in life without the blink of an eye. So, all that considered, we bought "Baby Signs" and started using it last week. At 6.5 months, there's no signing back yet, of course. BUT, there's already a visible recognition of the concept of "eat" and "more" that I don't think would have happened using the words alone.

-dan

[parkersmama]

Doesn't that really make you want to keep it up?! I remember being really excited and inspired when they first started doing some signs. Keep up the great work!! I promise you that signing will make life a lot easier with a toddler!