Any of you Moms using the signing DVDs for babies?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This signing is for kids who can hear. The theory is, that with signing, kids 10 months and up can communicate with their parents - and others - even if they can’t speak. FWIW, they use the same signs of the American Sign Language.

My daughter’s a believer and has bought the 2 DVDs of the My Baby Can Talk series.

BTW, we have absolutely no connection whatsoever with these things. Frankly I don’t know for sure if signing works for youg 'uns.

Our tykes (10 months old) sit utterly entranced before the TV, watching the DVDs, especially here, because that’s all the TV they see when they’re in our care (and not much more than that at home, happily). Sometimes, toward the end, they fidget their way out of watching any more. More often than not, though, they watch to the end.

Check 'em out at amazon, if you’re interested. If nothing else, they’ll probably give you a break while the kids watch something that’s good for them. Some of the words the kids sign for include, Mommy, Daddy, balloon, giraffe, lion, bath, all done, apple, hat, socks, and on and on.

And they also have pleasant music by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, and very nice toys, babies, mommies, dads, animals - real and otherwise, etc.

Last Friday, my daughter at home was going to play one of the DVDs for the kids. Ooops! She’d left them here the day before.

So instead, as the kids watched she put in a Baby Einstein, DVD. Saxton, the cutup of the twins, got furious. No crying. Just fury. I mean he was pissed. He didn’t want that friggin’ Baby Einstein. He wanted the signing thing.

I still laugh.

2

We haven’t done the DVDs, but we’ve been using some baby sign with WhyBaby from books. She failed her first hearing screen, which caused some panic and the purchase of BabySigns, but passed subsequent hearing tests, so now it’s just for fun. She signs “milk” “cheese” (her two favorite foods) “all done” and she’s starting to get “eat food” (right now she uses “milk” to mean both milk and solid food). She made up one sign of her own, for “brush teeth”, which is so intuitvely obvious that anyone would understand it (she puts her index finger in her mouth and wiggles it up and down).

She doesn’t really use verbal words yet. She has her own Baby Babble language, and once in a while comes out with a whole sentance, clear as day (“All done, Daddy! Down now!”), but won’t even consistently say “Mama”. As a micropreemie, she’s watched closely by a speech therapist, and is testing at a 20% delay beyond her adjusted age. (That is, she’s 19 months old, should be 15 months old, and is using speech like a 12 month old.) It’s worth watching, but no one is panicking yet. As the therapist said, “Well, she’s not talking yet, but she *communicates *very well!” :smiley:

I like that you’re using ASL. I never understood the point of private signs - as a nanny, I’d like to use signs too, but I can’t do that as well if I have to learn new signs for each kid! Plus, even a little ASL will be more useful in the future.

If you like signing with them, I recommend bookmarking the ASL browser for quick reference. Thousands of words, with a little Quicktime video to show you exactly how to make the sign. Video is so much easier than a written description!

I think we might take out the DVD this afternoon. I’ve been avoiding the TV, as per the current recomendations for under 2, but I think a little guided fun with the TV won’t hurt.

3

I don’t think the DVDs are going to teach them much if anything. What gets kids signing is interaction with parents who sign.

My wife and I sign with our kid. He’s not talking yet, but he’s signing a few very useful words. He knows “Hungry,” “Milk,” “All done*,” “Diaper Change,” “No” (unfortunately :slight_smile: ), and “Help.”

He also points at things he would like to see or play with, though I think most toddlers do this even if they aren’t being taught to sign.

It’s very nice being able to communicate with him at an age where kids usually spend some time being frustrated and upset by their inability to get their wants across to their parents.

I don’t have a cite available, but last I checked, the studies that have been done show no negative effect on children’s ability to pick up vocal language, and some even seem to show a weak positive effect.

-FrL-

*He uses “all done” as a general purpose “I’d like to do something else now, please…”

4

Oh, right. I only mention my daughter’s delay to note that it’s quite possible for a baby to use signs before she can use spoken language. Her delay is due to being a micropreemie, not from using signs.

In fact, her speech therapist is very supportive of using signs. She also told us that there’s no delay in verbal speech in signing (hearing) babies.

Heh. For a while, WhyBaby was using “all done” to mean: “All done with what we’re doing” or “All done with this food, I don’t want the rest” or “All done with what you gave me, I’d like some more, please!” or “Stop doing that! I don’t want my diaper changed/face washed/shoes on.” Context is important :smiley:

5

Are there any good books about baby signing? Iris wants to try this so I figured that I could pick something up and try it out.

6

Some at

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-4523633-5916741?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&keywords=Baby+signing&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
Check out the reviews and then ask here about individual titles. These gals are very knowledgeable.

7

Barowl has given a good Amazon cite. I don’t really think you need a book though. Just start consistently using the signs you want the kid to learn when talking to him/her, and s/he should pick them up after a while.

-FrL-

8

My mother taught me to sign when I was a baby (early 80’s). I didn’t retain any of it after I learned to talk, but she says that I communicated much earlier than I talked. I like to think that learning the bits of ASL that I did helped me learn how to aquire language, helping me to become functionally bilingual in spanish as an adult.

9

The thing is we don’t know any signs, we’d have to make them up. I was thinking that maybe there would be some ASL signs in the books or whatever, something that the baby might be able to learn more of. I did do the Amazon search first and didn’t know there were so many books.

10

I just make them up, myself.

But in any case, I’m pretty sure you can look up ASL online. (Wasn’t that even mentioned in this thread somewhere?)

Anyway, I’m just sayin’ is all. Buy the book if you want! :slight_smile:

-FrL-

11

I have one for you.

12

We use Sign With Your Baby.

13

We started Shayla on signing about a week ago. We decided that we weren’t going to go crazy with it, nor were we going to buy any DVDs or anything. Just select a few key signs, and see how she takes to them. We settled on: “eat”, “drink”, “sleep”, “change diaper”, “more” and “all done”.

So for the past week, whenever I’m feeding her, I pause several times during the meal, make the sign for “more”, and ask her “More? Do you want more?”. She hadn’t been doing it back, but I knew it would take some time.

Well, yesterday as I was feeding her I stopped and did the “more” sign. She responded by making the proper motion, but with only one hand. Ok, good deal, that’s a start. I showed her the proper gesture, but continued feeding her.

This morning, we’re having breakfast, and again when I stop and ask her if she wants more, she does the one-handed signal. Since we’d like for her to get this right, I make the correct sign and ask her “more?”. Again, one-handed. I responded with the two-handed signal, and again ask “more?”. She makes her “I’m less than pleased at the moment” face, does the one-handed signal, and yells “Maw maw maw!!!”

Ok, ok…point taken!

14

Oh man, does she actually make that face whenever she’s annoyed with you?

That is seriously cute. :slight_smile:

-FrL-

15

Yes, she does.

Nine months old, and she’s got the drama queen thing down pat.

16

That is seriously cute. But this one is like looking into the future: “Daddy! C’mon, cut it out. Montana’s waiting for me, and we need to get some serious mall time in before we meet the guys for pizza. No. PIZZA, Daddy, not kissing. Stop it, Daddy - I will *so *be home on time. I love you, Daddy, you’re the only man for me, you know that! Can I borrow $50, Daddy?”

:smiley:

17

Ya know, rereading that this morning, I am horrified to discover it has an incest-vibe, which is not at all what I was going for last night when I wrote it. I was much more thinking Cher in Clueless. Sorry if I squicked anyone out there.