Baby Sign Language (No Hearing Issues, Just Language Capability Booster)

We did it and it's awesome. My husband always says he doesn't know what we would do if we didn't have it, it really helps them show you what they need and eliminates a lot (but not all) frustration. We just got a small pocket book called, Baby Sign Language Basics by Monta Briant (Target I think). We also look up new signs at www.aslpro.com they have videos. Our toddler loves looking them up with us and learning new ones. I highly recommend it. We started around 4 months but don't get frustrated, their motor capabilities aren't there until later. I think he was around 7 or 8 months when we started noticing his signs. Also, you have to watch for it, lots of times they aren't exactly like the actual signs and can be easy to miss. Feel free to ask me any questions!

Hello M.,
I do baby sign language with my 15 month old daughter who also does not have any hearing issues and such. Although she is starting to talk a lot, it still helps us a ton! I started it right away, around 4 months old, when she was more alert. I started at this time also because she started eating and Let me tell you...it is great! I like to use it more for feeding time. It's great for feeding, like "All done", "More", "Drink", "Eat", etc. It has helped us understand her and she's not throwing things on the floor or rudely pushing us away to let us know how she feels. She likes that we can communicate and she will use these signs, not just for feeding, but in her daily routine. I highly suggest signing to your son...it will help you and your son communicate and understand each other. There are videos, I'm sure your library has or even books on signing. Baby Einstein also does videos that are cute for the babies to watch and help pick up the idea. It is something nice to watch together and you both learn the signs. I hope it all works out and success to both of you!

Hi! I have taken a baby sign language class with both my children and then used two videos as reinforcements and extensions to their class learnings: Baby Einstein "My First Signs," and Baby Einstein "Baby Wordsworth -- First Words Around the House."

I enrolled my kids in the Baby Sign Language class offered through Gymboree Play when each was about 12 months old. It is an incredible class and is a wonderful way to spend 45 minutes with your child out of the house! (It is quite pricey -- but was worth every penny for us.) After taking the class. my daughter began to learn directly from the Baby Wordsworth video on her own. She actually knew more sign language than I did!

Even though your son is only 4 months old, I recommend learning some of the first "key" signs and starting to use them immediately. He won't be able to sign back for some time, but he will be learning. I started with "milk" and "change diaper" when my kids were infants and these are the signs and words they most recognize and use. When you start feeding in a high chair, start using "more," "eat," "drink," and "all done" every time you say the word. It's amazing how fast he will learn!

If you have other questions or want to know more, please feel free to send me a private message!!

We also had great success and great fun signing with our baby. All I did was read the book Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk - by Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, and Douglas Abrams. Read it now and start introducing signs maybe around 8 months old (though it wasn't until my son was just over a year that he took off with it - but he was also a preemie...). More, Please, All Done, Help, Kitty, Eat, Milk, Drink..that was about all we had until his verbal language really kicked in around 18 months, but boy, you can't imagine how much more pleasant it makes your house! Good luck & have fun!

I love "Signing with your Baby" by Garcia. It teaches ASL (american sign language) and is great.

Malik Turley of 300 weeks teaches classes around the city and evanston, and is a great instructor.
300weeks.com

Hi M.,
I have been using sign language with my 18 month daughter for several months now and definitely recommend it. I'm not sure if your son is still 4 months old, but that's a little young to be able to do the motor coordination necessary to communicate via SL. Also, there doesn't seem to be a specific age that kids catch on - the books I read all said 9 months, but my daughter and all the kids in our playgroup who do it didn't catch on until between 12 and 14 months. It's soooo great when they finally do get it though. Before they can say the word "milk" or "thirsty" they can sign it so you avoid many screaming fits.
I got your basic how-to sign language books from the library - one wasn't better than another. The ones with titles like "your baby's first signs" or "your first 20 words in sign language" were most applicable. Baby Einstein has a great video with about the 20 first signs as well, I found that helpful for us. Also, a great sign to start with is "more." Both "hungry" and "milk" look like other things we already do - like wave bye-bye - and my daughter found those confusing at first. More doesn't look like anything else and it's easy to put in context for teaching - when your baby runs out of food and is still hungry, you just say more, do the sign, and give him more food! It takes a lot of repetition, but once they get it, it's a whole new world. Just remember to practice lots so they don't forget what they learned!
Best of luck,
MC

I had worked with someone who was deaf so I knew a little sign and decided to teach my daughter and it was the best thing I ever did. I started teaching her at 4 months and she is almost 3 now. As soon as she learned the basics (milk, hungry, dirty-diaper seemed difficult, etc.) it was awesome. I never had to guess what was wrong, she would just tell me. No more frustration at home or day care because I showed her caretakers her signs too. The only thing was I had to stop signing with her when she was around 18 months because she refused to say words she knew in sign, but now we sign all the time. It really jump started her communication skills too. She speaks very well and has a huge vocabulary and still signs too. I would recommend it for anyone who is willing to try it.