November 6, 2007 12:07 PM
Guest blog: Baby Sign Language
When I met Becky at Starbuck's last summer, she mentioned how helpful sign language had been in mellowing out her daughter's frustration level.
I asked her to do a guest blog on the subject. It just came in and so I'm happy to share it - and to round up your experience and ideas.
Dealing with a Frustrated Baby by Using Sign LanguageI'm a 26-year-old first-time mom working very part time from home and working very full time mom-ing my one-year-old daughter, Katherine. When she was nine months old, she became very vocal with her frustration. She took to crawling over to me and shrieking at the top
of her lungs, looking up at me like she was trying to communicate, "Mom! Don't you know what I want? Why won't you give it to me?" Sometimes she would even take a break from the howling to bite me on the thigh if I were sitting down or bite my shirt if I were holding her.I had been half-heartedly trying to teach her a few signs, but after I posted on my blog about my dilemma and a number of older moms said, "Try sign language!" I gave it a lot more effort. One resource I found extremely useful was this website . Click on "ASL for
Babies," and it will give you alphabetized lists of baby-centric vocabulary. Clicking on a word plays a brief video of a person demonstrating the sign.I was pretty sure that a lot of Katherine's frustration had to do with wanting to nurse, so the sign I focused on first was "milk" (opening and closing a fist three times) A month later, she finally "got it."
Here's what I wrote on my blog:
"The BIG breakthrough is that finally on Monday, after months of trying to teach her, she made the sign for 'milk.' And she has done it several times a day since then. It's incredible to actually be able to have two-way communication with her! She can express her need, and I can meet it. She likes to play independently on the floor near me whatever I'm doing, and now, when she gets hungry, she crawls over to me and asks for milk!"
If she gets whiny but isn't signing milk, I can offer her other options instead of automatically falling back on nursing every time she expresses need.
She has had two brief bouts of refusing to sign lasting a week or so each, and I was the frustrated one then. At first I panicked, and I wasn't sure what I should do...should I refuse to nurse her if she didn't ask for it? That didn't go well, to put it mildly. I went back to what I had done when I was teaching her originally – asking, "Do you want milk?" and making the sign before feeding her – and eventually she started signing again.
I am still working hard on "please" and "thank you." My friend Amy is a mom with a background in American Sign Language and has three little ones at home. I recommend her excellent post here about sign language, frustration, and her suggestion of teaching "please" instead of "more."
I am also teaching Katherine "drink" and "eat" so she can distinguish between wanting mommy milk and wanting a sippy cup or some table food.
Not all the signs we're working on are strictly practical. I love cats and hope to pass that on to my daughter. A sign-language-speaking friend taught me "cat" recently, and Katherine
delighted me when we were playing with our cat Bugaboo, and she responded to my prompts by trying hard to both say and sign "cat."Sometimes while she is nursing, she will look up at me and sign "milk" over and over, and I get the sense that she is conversing with me about our activity. If having one-word conversations with her is this much fun, I am eagerly anticipating the day when she will actually start talking.
I can't wait to hear everything she has to say.
Becky's family is included in the Quiverfull Album - which btw, is still open for expansion.
Comments
Baby Signs worked wonders for us, too! Even now, it is funny to see my very verbal 2 1/2 year old resort to signing "Please" (open palm rubbing a circle on her chest) when she has verbally asked for something and feels that mommy isn't responding quickly enough. It's as if she figures I didn't hear her when she asked verbally. :-)
Posted by: Amanda | November 6, 2007 1:20 PM
Yes! We used Baby Signs (ASL) with all three of our children. Our third child learned more than three dozen signs by the time he was 18 months, thanks mostly to a wonderful video series called Signing Time. I highly recommend them.
Posted by: Jodi | November 6, 2007 1:38 PM
Loved this post! It reminded me to get moving on sign language with my eight month old. I had such nice results with my now three year old. Even a few key signs made for a huge breakthrough in communication. Also, I was worried that it would delay speech, but it facilitated it. In fact, he stopped signing as he could say words. Unfortunately, that means he doesn't use the sign language anymore but I would definitely recommend it as a communication tool. Kids can imitate almost anything else...why not make it work for you with sign language?
Posted by: Melissa S. in PA | November 6, 2007 1:46 PM
There is a book about this called "Baby Signs" that I am glad I read!
Posted by: Milehimama | November 6, 2007 1:55 PM
I'm on my third child, and always thought the baby sign language was a Nice Idea, but never had time for it. My first two kids were boys, and honestly, cared more about Destroying My Property and Beating Things Up than communicating.
But then there's this Girl, my third child, who is quite proficient at Squawking and Squealing until we Die Of Frustration figuring out what she wants.
And then my friend taught me the "more" sign, and that cut out a significant amount of noise. Course, my baby is 800 pounds now, but that's another issue. :) So this Mama is going to check into the sign language gig, and hopefully transition the Screaming Susie into someone a bit more pleasant. :)
Posted by: Stretch Mark Mama | November 6, 2007 2:33 PM
I loved teaching both my kids to use sign language. My daughter was on the cusp of speaking, so she needed only a few signs, but took them up early. My son, however, was a much later talker, and the signs REALLY helped him immensely. He really changed a lot once he learned to express himself in sign. He had a few "made up" signs that we understood, and it was a RELIEF to be able to communicate with my children.
The myth that children will speak later if you teach sign at early ages is totally incorrect! It's a SECOND language...just as teaching your child French and English...if you do it consistently, from an early age, they will be FINE!
Posted by: Linda | November 6, 2007 4:30 PM
Hey Barbara! Though I haven't commented lately - I'm still here!!!! With 3 little ones, sometimes all I get to do is read or skim, and not comment! But I had to comment b/c baby sign has been an incredible service to our family - our kids and us as parents!!! There's absolutely no excuse for whining b/c they have a means of communicating! It's brilliant! : ) It definitely takes consistency on the parents part (just like any form of training does) in the beginning, but once the babes get the hang of it, they love it too b/c they are communicating! : )
Posted by: shawnda | November 6, 2007 4:36 PM
I know that using videos to teach young children is something that has been discussed here and that it isn't exactly favored. However, we have been extremely excited and amazed with what our children (6, 4, & 2) have learned from the Singing Times videos. We have borrowed all of the Signing Times videos from the library and then we have used ASL Pro and ASL Browser to add to their growing vocabulary.
The 6 and 4 year old have an ASL 'vocab' that far exceeds 150 words and phrases. Sometimes I get a bit concerned when they are in a room together and it becomes very quiet. However, most times when I check on them, I see that it is quiet because they are carrying on a conversation in sign language. The 2 year old knows well over 50 signs. Now, with some of those words/phrases, she still has a hard time making the signs but she is easily able to interpret and understand what is being signed to her.
It has been a perfect way to encourage the children, especially the 2 year old, with their manners. They almost always sign as they ask for something, always using please and thank you. Also, signing for things like, "May I be excused?", "May I go to the potty?", etc...
What I am most pleased with, of course, is that if/when the opportunity arises, they will be able to carry on a conversation (maybe a somewhat limited conversation, as of right now, but still a conversation) with someone who has to use ASL to communicate. It will allow them to bridge a gap that would most likely be there, otherwise.
Posted by: Nicki | November 6, 2007 7:58 PM
Baby signing was wonderful for us. I was fascinated by it and thrilled when we had baby number four and I could try it out. She did marvelously and it was a total joy to 'talk' to her from about 9 months of age. She is now a very verbal two and a half year old and like your first commenter, occasionally reverts to signing 'please' when she doesn't get an answer quickly enough.
One other benefit of signing is that your other children learn it as well and you can give them directions across a crowded room with out ever opening your mouth. The sign(s) for "sit down now" coupled with a stern look will usually settle my boys down as quickly as if I had flicked them on the ear. =)
Posted by: Phyllis | November 6, 2007 8:37 PM
We use ASL with our toddler who has Down Syndrome. He knows dozens of signs, and seems to learn how to say words more easily if he knows the sign that goes with it. At just 22 months he is saying things like 'please' and 'thank you' using sign language.
Posted by: Kimberly | November 8, 2007 2:32 AM
