BABY SIGN LANGUAGE

[RachelC]

Absolutly not! Jump right in!  It's never too late. 

[tstasko]

EmMUK - that is AMAZING!!  How cool!
And I love how creative Jalyn is w/the Cheerios sign - how cute!
We have not been very consistent  , but we do try!  DD now starts smiling when we do "change" and "milk" - no idea if she's starting to get it, but we think she may be connecting the dots a little   
everytime i check out this thread though i go away w/more resolve to get more consistent - it just seems like such a wonderful tool!!  the only thing i am a bit concerned about is that i telecommute from home and we have a caregiver in the house - i really haven't asked her to sign w/scarlett and i think we probably should have her do the basics (which is what we are doing)....maybe just show her and ask her to do change and eat and water....what do you think?  anyone else have a "third party" communicator? 

LOVE hearing about everyone's smart babies!!

Tari
ps - julie, looking forward to checking out the video of you lo!!

[RachelC]

Tari, I would definately get her on board... if for no other reason than for her to understand when your dd begins to sign her needs and desires.  http://www.sign2me.com has materials for teaching signs and part of it is a fold out card that has spaces under the signs for dates of when the sign was introduced and then produced so any caregiver could be a part of the signing as well.  (hope that made sense).  It was always nice for dd1's grandparents to know what she was doing and to also be consistant with her.

[EmMUK74]

8 months is definitely not too late, this is the time when they start getting the ability to gesture and make signs and so if you start with some simple signs consistenly you could see a response really soon, good luck

Tari - keep it up and soon you will be seeing it come back and then you'll be hooked.

my hardest thing at the moment is getting DH and the grandparents to also use the signs but they are so resistant; I think it's a shame because it gets Rachel frustrated and then she prefers to be with me.  I will keep trying to encourage them to use them too

[tstasko]

That's fabulous Rahel - thank you!  And I didn't even think about when Scarlett begins to sign that Natasha (caregiver) will have to be clued in...duh!

[julieb]

Steph, I started about 6.5 months with Asher and he didn't sign back until 8-9 months.  Then it didn't really take off until 12-13 months.  So 8 months is certainly right on target!

Tari, I am the main one who signs and teaches Asher, but everyone else has learned to recognize most of the signs so they can understand Asher when I'm not around.  When I drop him off somewhere, I'll do a quick reminder and show the most important signs that he'll most likely use while he's there (cracker, blanket, and water and sometimes more and all done if he's going to be eating a meal).  They are always quite grateful because they know how hard it can be to understand a toddler who can't speak!  But hardly anyone actually signs TO him (even DH).  And once he has a sign down well, I rarely continue the sign myself!  There's really no need since he understands most everything we say (and has since he was 8-9 months old).

Em M, so based on what I said to Tari, don't be discouraged that no one else is doing the signs.  I think it's more important that they recognize the signs when your LO does them.

[Marisa's Mom]

Do you guys have a simplified version for the word "yogurt"?  The sign on one of those websites looks like it is all spelled out: Y-O-G-U-R-T. It's a bit long for baby. Just wondering what you guys use for that word.

DD has grasped the signing of "more" although I'm not entirely sure whether she means "more" or whether she thinks it means "i like it!", LOL. She does the more sign immediately after her first bite of pineapple. And she does it at other times, but it is most consistent with pineapple. Since pineapple seems to be her other favorite fruit (besides bananas), I need to learn the sign for it.

DD sometimes signs "change" when on the diaper changing table. Well, when she's not screaming & kicking in protest about having her diaper changed.  It requires a lot of coordination which she hasn't quite mastered, so it's really cute watching her sign it.

DD has occasionally signed "milk".

And I'm not sure whether she is trying to do "eat" when she brings her hand to her mouth while sticking her index finger into her mouth. Or the variation she did today after I asked her, "Are you hungry?", where she would stick her index finger in her mouth & pull it out, while making the "ummmm" or "mmmmm" sound each time.

I have been signing "up" for ages, but she has her own version of raising both arms up field goal style and saying "mama! mama!" or "mama? mama?" when she wants to be picked up.

[julieb]

Yeah, there are no signs for broccoli or cauliflower either, so you just have to be creative! 

[maxysmum]

Hi Julie, Thanks I'm glad I haven't left it too long, I've already got stuck in with a couple of simple signs like food and drink

Steph 

[~Faye~]

Hello. Would it be too late for me to start? Shay is 15 months almost. He has got pointing down to a tee so far! Where would be the best place to get English signing info?

Faye

[RachelC]

Marie,
Oddly enough, a question about the sign for yogurt was posted in the yahoo group for signing that I belong to 

Handshape: non-dominant hand flat facing up
dominant hand "Y" facing up

Movement: "Y" makes a rotation from the flat hand toward the face

Location: Chest to lower facial area.

HTH

[Marisa's Mom]

Oddly enough, a question about the sign for yogurt was posted in the yahoo group for signing that I belong to 

Handshape: non-dominant hand flat facing up
dominant hand "Y" facing up

Movement: "Y" makes a rotation from the flat hand toward the face

Cool! That is sooooo much easier than doing the spelled out version. I'll have to give it a try with DD.

[charmed_angelca]

                    Just wanted to say that my sister-in-law who runs a daycare will be starting up classes to learn how to sign,and will hopefully help parents out there who can't place their children because there aren't very many places that offer that need to children,at least around here,which i think is a great idea! Helps alot of parents who perhaps can't afford the "extra" help it requires for the child. I think learning to sign is a wonderful idea!       
                                                                 charmed_angelca

[x95stocchier]

Question for all of you "pros"

DS is almost 7 mo and we started eat, milk, all done and more last month.  Whne you're feeding solids, how often do you do "more" ?  I feel liek I say "do you want more" every other bite.  Shoudl I be signing it that often?

[RachelC]

IMHO, when you say it, sign it.  The more exposure the better.  When I feed dd, I usually feed for a while, then put the bowl down and ask if she wants more.  HTH