Adorably signing “more” to see Scout fetch the ball again.
So I’m now super late in getting this post up, and then HuffPo just had a post about signing with your baby, but this post has cute Harry pictures and video.
I don’t even remember where I first heard of signing with your baby/toddler, but I always knew I wanted to do it.
Not only is it a great way to communicate with your baby before he learns to say words, it’s also just ridiculously cute.
(Aside from what works for us, I am pretty uneducated about signing, so I am hoping some of my smarter friends will chime in below.)
We started with the basic signs (milk, eat, all done, please, thank you), as these are the signs they did in the infant room in Harry’s school. For other signs, I just looked them up online. (Signing Time has a great app with a few dozen signs with video examples, as well as a few music videos, but we have never watched or used any Signing Time DVDs. But I know a lot of kiddos who love them and have learned how to sign from the videos.)
Most babies are able to learn signs before they learn to say words. And just like they babble before they speak, they “babble” in sign language too.
Harry was doing things that I thought were signs before he was signing for real. They’re eager to communicate with you, and you with them. So before they can hold a converation, this is the start.
Signs he knows (most used in italics):
please*
thank you*
daddy*
eat
more*
milk*
all done*
ball*
bath
book*
phone
bird
bee*
fish
dog*
potty*
up*
wash hands
shoes*
water
hot
friend
yes
no*
*Signs he now pairs with the word. (So he will sign and say “more,” for example.)
Signs he recognizes but doesn’t sign back:
help
hurt
sorry
sing
happy
cat
wait
gentle/soft
dirty
We started when he was very wee. I’d sign milk every time we gave him a bottle, and his daycare teachers would as well. I think he was about 10 months or so when he first signed it back.
The first sign he started to do with real frequency was more. He started by tapping one finger into his palm (actually what he is doing in that above video).
And after his first birthday, it was like a sign explosion. It’s to the point now where he is able to pick up a new sign in just a day or so. My biggest hurdle is just first teaching myself.
And the million dollar question: do you think they cut down on tantrums?
Yes, I think so. He can ask for what he wants (he signs “more” when he wants me to sing, because there is a song that uses the more sign, so it’s sort of his general please-sing-a-song-mommy word/sign), he can tell us when he wants his water or milk; he can tell us when he’s all done; he can understand what I’m asking for when I ask him to get his shoes or tell him to wait or that it’s time for a bath. And the kicker is, he can answer me back.
I also think it’s helping with the development of manners, because I can ask him to say please and he can say please (before he could actually say it).
Now that he knows yes and no, I can ask him a question, and he can answer yes or no with signs. It’s pretty remarkable.
Do you sign with your baby or toddler? If you have tips or tricks, or just want to share why you love it, I’d love to hear it!
We did use Signing Time and a side bonus of that was learning colors, shapes, letters and numbers. Something about signing, identifying and saying “red” really let the concept sink in very well. It’s no great sign of intelligence but Catherine could identify all the colors, many shapes, the alphabet and numbers 1-9 very early on. It makes for a neat party trick, getting an 18-month-old to grab a specific letter for you out of a pile of foam letters.
We used baby signs with Gracelyn and most definitely will continue with any other children. I’m a firm believer that it helps with tantrums. She can communicate what she wants in a way that I can understand. The only thing I will change its a second child? Learn more and start earlier. I love baby signs!!
We did some signs with our daughter. http://www.babysignlanguage.com has a great database of short videos for hundreds of signs. I must admit that I got lazy with the signing when she started using more and more spoken language. I felt like I didn’t really need to bother with the signing anymore because she can basically tell me what she wants or what she is thinking. Not that she speaks clearly all the time–I’m just really good at interpreting her babble.
One sign she still uses more than any others–”MILK!’ She’ll sign that one AND say it if she thinks I’m not listening to her, or if she thinks it’s taking me too long to deliver said milk. 
We only did “more” and “finished” with Atticus. We didn’t do those hard core until he was over a year, and then he started picking up words like mad and we didn’t teach him any more signs. I would probably do a few more earlier if we were to have another kid.
It seemed like Atticus changed overnight and became someone who communicated. I wasn’t really prepared for that when it happened, so I would have started earlier with the signs if I had known . . . what parenting is like, I guess. I can’t think of a better way to explain it. I had no idea what was coming! haha!
I know some sign language b/c I have a frend who is also my olesdt sons godmother that is deaf and mute. I would like to learn more because this is the only way to communicate with her, but I would also like to teach my kids at the same time. Does anyone know of some free resources / services that would help?