What age did you start teaching your kiddos sign language? I was thinking about starting to teach my 9 month old.. but i didn't know if it was too early to do so. Share your experiences? :) Thanks!
We started with my son at 9 months and he picked it up withing 2 months or so. We just did the basic needs: more, eat, milk, drink, all done, etc. He still uses them at two and can speak great too. Good Luck!
Start now. We started with a few signs and then added more once my daughter grasped the concept that the signs represented meaning. Milk is the easiest since they see it so often every day, and repetition is key.
6 months
That's when I taught both my kids and started.
This is a great time. I did this with my son but I dont remember what age I started it, but it was so helpful to know what they wanted at times instead of guessing for a long time. Just make sure you tell the caretaker, if they go to daycare, what all signs they know and what they mean. Like my son tweaked them somewhat. Not every sign was right on, he did what he saw and so they were a little different from the book we had. So have fun with it, and be patient in teaching. We signed all the time for everything. Every time we said something we wanted him to sign, we would do it until he got the hang of it. We even made up some of our own that came into play in our everyday routine! Have fun
I started with my daughter at 10 months. There is a lady here in Wichita that teaches a 6 week class on Saturday mornings that we took. It was FUN and you learn A LOT of signs! She gives you flash cards that you can use at home and is great with the kids in class. The youngest in our class was a 2 month old. His family was learning signs to start using right away. He obviously won't be able to use the signs for awhile but will probably be able to sign earlier then most. I would be happy to give you here contact information if you are interested.
One of the most important things that she taught us was to use the sign 10 times in a row when teaching a new sign. Most kids won't sign the correct sign right away, they will do their version of the sign. That is fine, just make sure that you always use the correct sign back to them. When they do use a new sign, make a BIG deal of it and give lots of praise, this helps them know that using the sign was good and they should keep doing it.
It is easy to get discouraged...I know I did!! It was a good 6 weeks before my daughter used her first sign. It was like a switch, one day she just started using her signs. So, don't give up!
You can start now.
To the list of suggested signs I would include the sign for "Stop." It is great to have later in life when you are in places where you need to be quiet, and you need them to stop what they are doing.
We also did barn yard animals. However we were teaching our children to sign because we have deaf family members. Our daughter caught on and was interested our son wasn't, so we stopped with him. Now he is five and just visited with Aunt Paula (who is deaf) so now he is interested. We'll just start doing more with him.
Good Luck!
I am a sign language interpreter, so I started signing with my daugher from day one. She started signing back around 5 months. I really think she benefited from this tremendously! She is 20 months now and speaks like crazy...full sentences! She still signs too. Have fun!
I started my daughter around that time using the signs that I remembered from taking it in college. Then we got the Signing Time dvds and what we don't know we look up on-line! She loves it! And when she would use the sign she started using the word. It is amazing to watch them use it. She will see a sign maybe once or twice and a month later just spontaneously use it!
Never too young, the point in teaching them sign language is because they can communicate that way sooner than they can speak verbally. She'll be learning words soon but she will already be able to learn to tell you she needs a drink, shoes, bite, love... Then as she learns to verbally speak she'll gradually stop using the sign language.
No way--it's a great time to start. It was like magic having a 10 month old who could tell me when she was full at meal time! :) Also, I would highly recommend the Baby Signing Time DVDs. My daughter absolutely loved them and wanted to watch them over and over. She learned quickly and my husband and I learned right along with her. We also taught her teachers at the day care the signs as she learned them so that she could communicate with them as well. Milk, eat, more, and all-done were staples in our house and we worked on getting please and thank you and hurt, but dog and and a few animals were also fun to know.
Not too young at all!
In fact, it will ease his stress level a great deal as he won't be able to communicate verbally very well for some time still. He can learn "more", "all done" "eat" "drink" "thank you" very easily in a matter of a few weeks. And then you will know what he needs you to know! And the screaming and fussing will diminish almost like magic! :) I know... I did it with my son and it was like someone flipped a switch. He suddenly could tell me he wanted more food or was thirsty!!
Started about that age - my guy used "more" and "all done" - pick a couple at a time and gradually add more. It's so cool! You can find some "baby sign language" specific books at the library or bookstore. They help. Have fun!
I started Sign Language around a year old. Milk, More, All Done, Please, Thank you, Drink, Help, Stop, No, Yes....are the ones I used the most. We don't sign anymore, now that he talks, but I would randomly add things as he grew...Jump, Walk, Swing, Ball, etc. If she's able to communicate what she wants, then I say she's on track. If she become interested in something then find out the sign for it. If you always serve an apple or banana, teach the sign for commonly eaten foods.
A similar question was asked awhile ago... http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/219883994769129473
