Over the past few months, I have worked on teaching Miss ZZ some baby sign language. I have heard it is a great way to help young children communicate when their speech capabilities are low or nonexistent. So far I have taught her signs for:
- More
- All Done
- Milk
- Cheese
- Bread
- Banana
- Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma
- Water
I figure those are some of the basics to get her started. I love looking up what words mean and figuring out new things to teach her. So far it has been great overall. She does seem a bit confused by More, which is a tough concept to tease out at first, I imagine. She will sometimes sign More when she has not had anything yet. I believe she intends it as “Food” or “Please” or something along those lines. I do try to use More + whatever food I am giving. Over time I am sure she will figure it out.
I love that she can tell me what she needs to some degree at least. We have a snack of string cheese together every day and that is one of her favorite signs. I know she understands what it means because I have signed Cheese to her before without saying the word. Her eyes lit up and she started happily saying Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssss over and over. I have her now signing Milk much of the time when she wants to nurse instead of tugging my shirt down. One step at a time 🙂
I wonder if there are signs pertaining to geek culture out there, or if you are supposed to spell them out as necessary. I will have to do some research!
Here are some of the advantages of teaching baby sign language to your kids:
(Disclaimer: I was compensated to post up this infographic. I really do use sign language in our house, though, and love it! See my Disclosure Policy for details)
Have you used sign language with your baby? What was their favorite sign?
