Cassandra Said:

Any experience teaching sign language to a baby?

We Answered:

We started signing with our daughter when she was around 6 months. We weren't really doing it consistently. It was more like when we remembered. We started with eat, milk, more and all done. She started signing back at about 10 months, though babies do understand it for awhile before they are able to sign back. Now at 12 months, she's been picking up more signs, mostly to do with food and eating.

I have the book "Baby Talk" by Monica Beyer. I found it pretty good. It has tips on when to use signs and is easy and understandable read.
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Talk-Guide-La…

I also used the internet though. You can find out any sign you want to use. Just search for ASL and the word you want to sign.
http://signingbaby.com/main/?cat=21

Viola Said:

Has anyone tried teaching their baby sign language?

We Answered:

I have been teaching my daughter sign language (ASL, not the dumb baby stuff, some of them seem harder). I did it very lazily for about a month, just using signs like more, eat, milk, drink. Then, just before she turned 9 months old, she signed "more". I was so excited, I really didn't think it would work! lol. She has only been doing signs for a couple of weeks and is picking them up like crazy. She can say "milk", "gentle", "mommy", "daddy", and has attempted eat and drink, though it lacks her confidence still. I have noticed she always "yells" at me to get her attention before she does a sign, and I always say the word to her as she signs, and when I do the signs. She talks too, and can say mommy, daddy, baby, puppy, bye-bye, and "ny-ny" (her word for nursing). So I don't think it is detrimental to her verbal language development.

Wallace Said:

Teaching a baby sign language, anyone practice this with their baby?

We Answered:

My sisters used sign language with their kids and I used it with my daughter and will use it with my son! It works and the best benefit is that children can learn to sign before they can speak, so I found I had a much less agitated child because she could communicate in a way I could understand. Simple words like "more" and "please" and "all done" and "thank you". Babies are sponges. They pick it up very quickly. Make sure you verbally say the words when you sign them and also when your baby signs them.

I included a website that I just found, but I used a book called "On Becoming Baby Wise"

Georgia Said:

best advice for teaching baby sign language?

We Answered:

Choose 1-2 signs to start with, and build from there. All my kids used "more" and "all done" fairly consistently starting right around a year old. It was a big help at mealtimes and other times throughout the day when you're trying to figure out what your child wants.

My oldest went on to make up her own signs and gestures to refer to things even though we didn't teach her any other official signs. My middle child used the signs for a little while, but didn't show much interest in them and dropped them as soon as she could say the words well enough for us to understand.

We did the most signing with my youngest, and he really picked it up well. It helped a *lot* with understanding what he needed and helping him to feel confident communicating with us. By 18 months, he was consistently signing more, all done, please, thank you, cheese, ice cream (he picked that one up quickly! ;-) ), milk, water, juice, apple, banana, cracker, book, play, eat, and a couple others that I'm forgetting right now.

We never took any classes, but my son really liked looking at the baby board books from the library that taught several signs, and I think that's why he picked them up so quickly once he got started. We also weren't above making up a sign if we saw a use for one, but couldn't find the correct sign for it when we needed it.

All my kids said their first words right around a year, and I think that signing actually helped give them the confidence to try to communicate more. Then, once they got going, they took off!

The biggest thing to remember is that you have to be consistent when you sign. Once you choose which 1-2 signs you're going to start with, you have to use them every time it's appropriate to do so, and also say the word at the same time. You can even take your child's hands, and show her how to make the sign. For example, if you're teaching her "more," you can help her to sign more and then give her another bite of food or another toy or another tickle... whatever it is that she might be asking for more of.

Good luck, and have fun with it!

Ricardo Said:

Teaching your baby Sign Language?

We Answered:

If you are "wondering if you should look into it," then you should at least look into it. It's great that your community offers a class! Take it!! Get all of the information, then make an educated decision. It might be a fun activity for you and your husband to do together!