When Bailee was a baby we started teaching her a few simple baby sign language words and she just took off with it! We were so surprised as new parents to see that our young baby could communicate with us so effectively! I was shocked at how fast she learned it and how it seemed so natural to everyone! It helped her "talk" to us and helped us to better understand each other. If she was hungry she could tell me, if she wanted more she could say that, etc... It really helped with her frustration levels and really helped me as a mom connect with her!
Ever since then her vocabulary and learning abilities have increased dramatically! We taught our second daughter, Mia, the same way and she also picked up on the new language rapidly! We even found that Bailee was teaching Mia a lot and showing her over and over again how to sign a new word.
Our third child, Jack, is now 9 months old and learning sign language too. He has mastered "bye-bye" (that's typically the first sign for most babies), "more", "yes", and he is working on "drink", "eat", "please", and "thank you." I have a lot of people ask me about baby sign, so I thought I would just give a few tips... I'm no expert, but if I can teach my kids sign then you can too!!!
1. Have fun!
This should always be something that you enjoy and want to have fun doing. Once your baby senses that you're not having fun he/she won't want to engage with you. Keep it fun and it should appear like you're playing a game, not teaching a lesson!
2. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat (get the idea!)
Your baby will NOT learn this immediately. Keep showing and saying the word over and over again. For instance, when giving "more" Cheerios for a snack, say "more" out loud and sign it at the same time. Say it a few more times and then do the sign with your babies hands. Do this every day for a few weeks. Eventually he/she will get the idea and sign back to you when prompted. :0)
3. Keep smiling!
Even when your baby doesn't get it right away, keep smiling. They are not a failure if he/she doesn't learn quickly. Remember this is a game to your child, so don't get frustrated!
4. Encourage more words but keep practicing new!
Once you're baby has learned a word, wait a week or so before introducing a new one. Keep practicing the old ones too, you don't want everyone (including you) to forget what you've been teaching!
5. Watch and learn from your baby!
Both of my girls starting "signing" words to me that they made up! I would watch them move their arms and hands very deliberately and have a very serious look in their eyes before I realized that they had made up their own sign that I did not know! It was funny at first and then I realized that their need to communicate with me was very real, so pay attention! Your child may teach you a thing or two!!
Like I said, I am not expert, but here are a few websites that might help too!!
www.babies-and-sign-language.com A baby signing glossary/dictionary! It shows you how to do many different signs!
www.signingbaby.com
babystrology.com/baby-learning/baby-sign-language I thought this one was really neat! The baby shows you how to do each sign at the click of a button!
I'm sure there are hundreds of books, resources, videos and websites, so feel free to search them yourself! I hope this helps those of you who were wondering about baby sign... go ahead and give it a try!
