Baby sign language

RTicUL8

NAXJA Forum User
Okay, 99% of you can ignore this thread.

However, for those of you that have kids 7mo to 24mo. old:

Is anyone using baby sign language?

What signs are you using?

My daughter is 13mo. old
Currently she knows:
mom
dad
more
bottle
eat
bed/nap
up
down
all-done
water
bubbles (she uses this one for bath too)
pain
outside
book



I want to keep adding more, but I was curious to know what other people found useful.
 
We used signed English with my son in infancy and still do periodically for the fun of it. There is considerable evidence to show that it greatly increases lexical development. It will absolutely NOT stunt his ability to speak or communicate in the future.
 
My wife's brother was deaf. I noticed that the older cousins would say hi to him but there was no communication beyond that. I had been teaching myself sign so that I could talk him and I wanted our son to be able to talk to him as well. I started our son Zach on sign when he was already talking and I think it helped him with reading later. Learning the symbols of signing made it easier for him to recognize writing as symbols of speech. He's in fourth grade now, reading at 7th grade level. He's been teaching his little brother sign also.

Aside from singing lullabies to our month-old daughter, I will also sign the alphabet as I recite it to her. All the time my hand is signing her eyes are locked on it.

And no. Signing will not make your child mute :wierd: . It is, however, useful in church and other places where shouting at the kids might be disruptive.

I use sign to our dog as well. As I learned sign to talk to my brother-in-law it became habit to use it all the time. Now, if I make the sign of fingers to the lips the dog will jump up and start dancing around her food bowl :laugh3: . That's going to be especially useful as, at 14yo, she is starting to go deaf herself.

I don't have anything in particular to add to your list. I'm sure more will come to you as your daughter continues to explore her world.

edit: Beej beat me to it. I had to stop and actually do some work. Not fair :mad:
 
Aren't you guys worried somebody will mistake them for gang signs?

G.

**Disclaimer** Any post made by G. Sequoia Armstrong to this thread should be taken with ones tongue firmly planted in their cheek.
 
Beej said:
Yes, but your explanation has nice examples and reads much better than mine...
:laugh3:

Should we get into the psycholinguistics at work here?

I'm an Anthropologist. I only know linguistics from the comparative/evolutionary angle. I don't put much stock in the psycho angle. hasta
 
GSequoia said:
Aren't you guys worried somebody will mistake them for gang signs?

G.

**Disclaimer** Any post made by G. Sequoia Armstrong to this thread should be taken with ones tongue firmly planted in their cheek.

Gang sign is the equivalent of adult baby gibberish. True sign language at full speed is a whole nother ball game. Of course, with the rise in violence in general, it might be best to teach our children Atreides battle sign.
 
I do have an addition to the list:

cookie - one hand descirbes the shape of a cookie in the palm of the other hand (var. we've always done this on the back of the other hand).


also: ASL Quicktime online dictionary of signs
 
Teach her to sign

"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sessame seed bun"

mcdonaldsfeed.jpg
 
RTicUL8 said:
Okay, 99% of you can ignore this thread.

However, for those of you that have kids 7mo to 24mo. old:

Is anyone using baby sign language?

What signs are you using?

My daughter is 13mo. old
Currently she knows:
mom
dad
more
bottle
eat
bed/nap
up
down
all-done
water
bubbles (she uses this one for bath too)
pain
outside
book



I want to keep adding more, but I was curious to know what other people found useful.



That's really cool that you're doing that. From what I can tell from my son, it's teaching him to be more accepting of others. He's 4, and learns sign language in pre-school, with a new sign every couple of days. It's really something else when your 4 year old teaches you something for a change. Keep it up.
 
Hi! My husband just called me over to add a bit to this thread. I hope you don't mind. I am a sign language interpreter and I have worked with all ages including babies. You are doing the absolute Right thing! In fact many studies say that hearing children who learn signs first actually start talking sooner . Smile. might I suggest
please
thank you
milk
hungry
want
sister
brother
mammaw/ grandma
pappaw/ grandpa
These are all easy signs and fairly easy for a very young child to use. The library is FULL of wonderful videotapes or DVDs with all the fairy tales (red riding hood, goldilocks etc). Every child I have ever shown them to has really enjoyed them. Good Luck and Keep Signing! :lecture:
 
1990XJ4x4 said:
What about a sign for Jeep?

One hand turns from pronate to supine :laugh3:
 
Teach her the word "No"...... and watch how fast she figures out to use it against you. :laugh3:
 
My kids have known what the 'universal sign of displeasure while driving' sign is since they could see over the backseat......
I do what I can to teach them all I know in the limited time I have with them on this Earth.

The other day, my six year old son asked me, "Dad, when will I be allowed to cuss like you?"
I told him, "When you buy a Jeep."
 
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