milk (for nursing)
more
all done
thank you
please
sit down
I think it is incredibly helpful for the pre-verbal toddler to be able to express whether they're all done eating, or want more - and I think it cuts down on fussing, too! We signed to Nathan for months and months before he started signing back (at around 14 months or so? I think?), but I know that he was understanding what we were signing to him long before he signed back.
I don't know whether we'll keep growing our vocabulary or not now that Nathan is starting to talk so much more, but I'd like too. :)
There are lots of online resources for signing... including youtube! I've found lots of videos demonstrating signs, which is so much easier for me to copy than an instruction book.
Do you sign at all with your little ones?
6 comments:
We just really started. We don't get anything back...but when I sign/say "water" he looks at his water cup...
We LOVE babysigning! We signed with Peeper sporadically from birth, and then tried to be better about it as she got older.
She started signing back (First sign: "more") at 10 months. At a year, she only had about 3-4 signs, and then it just exploded!
She's hit all her verbal milestones (from cooing onward) at the late end of normal, so it's been a HUGE help to all of us for her to be able to communicate by signing.
At 15 months, she really only had one word (Mama) but about 30 - 40 signs.
Now, at 17 months, she's got a handful of words and even more signs.
She's a pretty laid-back kid, and I attribute that in large part to the fact that she is able to communicate her needs and doesn't feel the frustration that she would if she were just pointing and grunting.
Those are big ones that we do, too. We also do "eat" in the mix.
YES! We are very convinced that signing has saved us from SO many tantrums. Even after Kieran started talking, there were many (many many many) time we didn't understand what he was saying. His signing vocabulary was probably 150 words - and he could usually tell us exactly what he wanted. So many tantrums are due to a failure to communicate; sign language can be an invaluable tool!
Kas- we signed for a loooooong time before we got anything back... but once he started signing back he mastered the ones we'd been using quickly!
Whozat - we were pretty sporadic at the beginning, too... but as you get to the point where where they are paying more attention it is easier to be motivated!
Krystyn - I can see how that sign would be a really good addition!
Dionna - wow, that is a huge vocabulary! amazing! :) Did you already know some sign language, or were you all learning together? Were there specific resources you found helpful?
I don't sign with my baby girl, at least not yet. But my SIL did it with my nephew and it was fascinating to watch him learn. I haven't decided how much effort I'm going to put into it just yet.
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