[name_f]My[/name_f] sister swears by it and used it with her second baby and says that she thinks that’s why her youngest has such good linguistic skills that developed a little quicker than her older sister’s. I’m not sure about this, it could be right, but I think every baby is different.
But I’m going to give it a try, I’ve downloaded an app and I thought it’s worth the try.
Does anybody have any experience with it? Or is it something you would try?
Thanks!
I think it a good idea. Babies can understand a lot more than we think but they just cannot speak because their vocal muscles haven’t developed properly yet. Their babbling is talking to them and that is why they may get annoyed when you baby-talk back to them. I wouldn’t say that it improves their linguistic skills [although I don’t know the evidence for and against this] but it is a good idea for communication. On another note, I wish that my parents taught me sign language in a bilingual way with English.
I don’t have any experience with this at all, but it sounds like a really great idea to me. I think it’s universally accepted that linguistic understanding develops in small babies long before the ability to produce recognisable speech. If I could speak in my mind but was unable to control my lips and tongue well enough to say anything out loud, I know I would find that very frustrating and I’m sure babies do as well.
I don’t really think it would have any long-term effect on linguistic ability or the time-frame in which the baby learned to communicate vocally (have any studies been done?) since from my understanding baby signing is by no means a complete language, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have great short-term benefits.
I have some doubts about whether I personally would be diligent enough to remember to sign when I spoke, since it’s not at all natural to me, so if you’re planning it I would start practicing early!
@jackal: I speak mostly with my hands anyway, it irritates everybody who knows me, so it would be good to put it to use.
According to research I’ve been doing it can help your baby talk and add new words to their vocabulary. It’s supposed to enhance language not necessarily replace it. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister says she didn’t do it for every single word but for some basic ones like: mum, dad, sister, more, milk, food, hurt, all gone, nappy change, car, auntie, uncle, granny, grandad, happy, sad, hot, cold and sleep and some other little ones, not all of them stuck very quickly but it’s about keeping at it. She says it becomes second nature after awhile (very funny in the shops with her doing these big exaggerated signs) and she things it helped her bond more with her baby.
I think this site had some interesting points: Baby signing - BabyCentre UK
I think it can be good, as long as the child is still learning to communicate vocally too. [name_f]My[/name_f] Dad and step-mum taught signing to my younger half siblings when they were babies, and whilst they were able to communicate with signing, they definitely took much longer to start communicating vocally.
[name_f]My[/name_f] 2 1/2 yr old sister can talk very well but she won’t unless she coaxed A LOT; she still signs and gets frustrated when people don’t respond to her. So I think that can definitely be a downside.
Making sure they understand the connection between the sign and the spoken word and the actual thing/person/action is very important, I think, in reaping the optimal linguistic development benefits. Yes, we plan on signing with our girls when they arrive! I know a fair amount of ASL already, but I’m looking forward to learning to adapt regular signs to the baby-friendly versions. Consistency is key – using signs every time it’s appropriate. The more you can learn and practice before you’re ready to teach them to baby, the better!
We did this with our son. We started signing to him (always saying the word as well) when he was about five months old. He started signing back at about eight months. We stuck to the very basic words- I think we did more, milk, and eat. That might have been it. Interestingly, these were the very last words he learned to say. He just kept using the signs rather than trying to say the word.
Pros: I think it really helps cut down on crying and tantrums. He could tell us what he wanted at a very basic level. He did not start speaking particularly early- he did not babble on time and the dr was concerned about that, and he did not have any spoken words at all till 18 months, but then he skipped straight to sentences, so I don’t know. At 2 1/2 he speaks very well and now the dr is saying that he is very advanced verbally. But I have no idea if signing did that, and it certainly did not make him speak earlier than normal.
Cons: He refused to learn the spoken words for the signs he had. We eventually had to stop responding to the signs so that he would say the words. The only other thing was that he of course assumed that everyone in the world knew the signs, and this was occasionally frustrating for him and for other caregivers. So if your kid is with other people ever, make sure the other caregivers know the signs.
If I did it again: I would again just stick to the very basic signs. Unless you want your kid to become and remain fluent in ASL, I don’t see a point in learning hundreds of signs. The baby probably doesn’t need to know the sign for giraffe, for instance, unless you live with a giraffe. Because of this, I didn’t bother buying a video or book, just looked up the basic signs online.
We found some signs particularly helpful, like more, food, and wait. We didn’t get into it much beyond that, and once she could talk we stopped. [name_m]Will[/name_m] probably do the same with our 2nd.
I don’t have any experience with it but it makes me think of Meet the Fockers.
I found this article on it Baby signing classes 'fail to boost toddlers' language skills'
I used it with both children. [name_f]My[/name_f] son’s speech has always been advanced and my daughter is so delayed that she gets special education services for brith-three year olds. I think their actual speech development depends more on the individual child but it doesn’t hurt. We only did simple signs like more, eat and sleep for my son. We did a lot more signs for my daughter as she got older and was still not speaking.
I don’t have personal experience doing it, but one of my good friends has done it with both her children (both currently under 4). I only see them once a year, but it’s pretty neat. I took ASL for two years, and it was very cool to communicate with her little girl (her son hadn’t been born yet last time I visited). I don’t think I’d be consistent enough to teach it, but if you are, go for it.
[name_m]Both[/name_m] my nieces used baby signs. I wasn’t around much for the older one, but the youngest one amazed me with them–it was like we were having full “conversations” by the time she was 12 months. I don’t have any suggestions on how to teach them, but I say go for it if it’s something that interests you!
As someone else said, though, I’m not sure about the linguistic benefits for all children. This little girl also refused to say words she knew the signs for. She’s now nearly three and actually has some minor language developmental delays (still great with signing though!). Her sister, on the other hand, is exceptionally well-spoken and at the top of her class with reading in school. I think it really depends on the child.
I’ve done some more research and some children don’t seen to want to learn because they’ve got the signs. I think I would give it a go but only with a few words such as milk, more, hot, cold and yes and no and maybe more if I think it’s needed. But I would definitely be saying then words at the same time and never just the sign.