You notice your baby wants something. She may start to whine or point. You bring her a sippy cup but that's not what she wants. A snack? Her teddy bear? Her frustration grows and so does yours! As babies grow into toddlers, their worlds expand faster than their language skills. If only you knew what she wanted!
Did you know you can communicate with your baby months before he can talk? Baby sign language allows your baby to express his needs and wants, therefore cutting down on his frustration.
- When can you start? If your child can wave "bye-bye," clap, or do motions to her favorite song, she is ready to learn sign language! The best age to start is eight to nine months. But be patient! It may take weeks, or months, for your child to do his first sign. If your child is older, it's not too late to start! Helping your son or daughter communicate better at any age will be beneficial.
- How do you start? Find a book or video on baby sign-language. I use Baby Signs by Acredolo and Goodwyn and the Baby Einstein Sign-Language DVD. Start with easy signs for words you use every day like "more," "food," or "Mom." Every time you say the word you model the sign.
Our son at 13 months signing "eat."
- How do I make it work for us? Every family decides what signs to teach. Some babies learn dozens of signs. We focus on just ten to twelve most often used in our family. Start with words you say to your baby every day, then decide if you want to increase his sign-language vocabulary by teaching signs for animals he sees in books or signs for emotions to tell you how he feels.
Baby sign language is a great way to help your child communicate and process the world around him!
Sandra spends most of her day communicating with her two year old and one year old sons as a SAHM. She communicates with the outside world at Today's Housewife.
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WE have done this with all five of our children. It has been an amazing blessing to let these precious ones communicate before they can talk….no more whining for "more," just sign it thank you.
We have taught our 17 month old daughter sign language from the very beginning. We started at birth to get ourselves in the habit. Now she knows about 35 signs and learns them as fast as I do – I have trouble staying ahead of her!
We hope to provide the foundation for American Sign Language as a second language for her so we will definitely continue signing, even as she learns verbal words.
Signing has cut down on SOOOOO many frustrations! It has been so helpful!
We taught all 3 of our girls sign language starting at about 10 months. We were amazed that it worked. It really helped our babies be peaceful babies because we usually knew what they needed. It was lots of fun to show off how smart they were too!