Signing 4 Baby - Baby Sign Language » Development

Clarifying Speech through Baby Sign Language

Andrea — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:31:36 +0000

My third child has been my slowest as far as verbalization. With each of my children it’s been interesting to see how sign language has benefited them in different ways. For instance, now that my little boy is starting to talk more I’ve actually started focusing on sign language more again just so I can understand what he is trying to verbalize.

An example is how he uses “Ga” for multiple things. He says “ga” for water, “ga, ga” for dog, and “gaa” for book (I have no idea why!) I’d picked up on water and dog, because he was already using those signs, thank goodness. Then one day he was trying to tell me he wanted something and I had no idea what he was talking about. We wandered around the house trying to figure out what he needed. Finally he saw the book he wanted..”gaa, gaa, gaa”. What in the world! I never would have guessed. Right then I signed book to him, then I took his hands and had him sign book. We did it a few times until I could tell he understood. Later that night when I was putting him to bed he said “ga”. I asked if he wanted some water, then he said no and started signing “book”. I grabbed a book and he started jumping up and down yelling, “yeah”! That was ten times easier than wandering around the house.

This is just another simple example of why I LOVE using baby sign language and how in many instances signing can help to advance and clarify verbal language skills.

Andrea Ploehn, signing4baby.com

Why you should teach your babies more signs.

Andrea — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:40:20 +0000

I was at a restaurant the other day and I saw a mom using sign language with her baby. I asked the mom if her daughter knew many signs. She told me she knew three: more, all done, and milk. I asked her if she had taught her older kids sign language when they were babies and if she’d taught them more signs. She said she had taught them sign language, but just the same three signs. Then she said, but I don’t know why I do it, because it’s not like I can’t tell that they want more food when they try and grab it, and I know they’re all done when they push the food away.

My reply to her was, oh that’s too bad… maybe you should teach her more signs. I was able to teach my children other food signs and when they woke up in the morning they’d tell me they wanted some bread, or a banana. They could also tell me they were thirsty, but they wanted milk, not water.

This is just one example of how using sign language made it easier to know exactly what my children wanted. A lot of parents I’ve talked to that haven’t gone on to teach their babies more signs just don’t see the benefit, but once they realize how much more their babies understand and are able to do with sign language, they are blown away!

Why not use sign language with your baby, it’s easy, has incredible lasting benefits, and it’s fun!

Andrea Ploehn

How to correct Baby Signing mistakes: Sometimes Babies Mix Up Signs

Andrea — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:20:48 +0000

My little 11 month old got a few of his signs mixed up… which happens, you just have to connect the reasons why this happens sometimes. I used to nurse my son to sleep right before bed, so a lot of the time when I was about to put him in bed I would say “time to go night night” and I’d sign bed. Without realizing it though I would go to feed him first. Then after awhile when I would ask Ben if he was hungry he would start signing bed or night night. At first I thought he was tired so I’d go to lay him down and he would cry and look at me like I was making a mistake. After a few time of this happening I quickly put the pieces together and realized how I had confused him. After that I started differentiating eat and bed and correcting his signing if he used the wrong one. It only took a couple days and he understood the difference, and that was at 11 months old. I can’t believe how observant they are!

So if you’ve noticed your little one has gotten a sign mixed up make sure to differentiate between your signs and then correct your little one by showing them the correct sign. If they still aren’t getting it, try to be more consistent and even take there hands and physically show them the sign you want them to do. When I’m teaching my son signs for the first time for a few days I while take his hands and help him mimic the sign correctly, it helps them to feel what they are visually seeing.

Good luck and have fun!

Andrea Ploehn

My 11 month old knows 8 signs!

Andrea — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:20:28 +0000

My 11 month old already signs back to me. So far Ben can sign: mom, dad, eat, more, up, all done, dog, and bed. When he starts to get a little fussy and I’m not sure if he’s hungry or tired I just ask him while signing, ” do you want to eat”, or ” are you tired, do you want to go to bed?” And it’s amazing at 11 months old he’ll tell me. Sometimes when I didn’t even know he was tired he’ll sign bed to me… and what do you know I put him in bed and he’s happy. It always surprises me at how smart babies are, and most of the time the parents have no idea how much their child understands.

I love baby sign language!!! I hope parents with little ones don’t miss out on this, because it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done as a parent by far.

Andrea Ploehn

My 9 month old signing “all done”!

Andrea — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:27:09 +0000

Here is a video of Ben my 9 month old signing up. A lot of the time when babies start signing back the parents don’t recognize that the baby is trying to produce a sign. If you pay attention and notice that they are attempting to copy you or tend to do the same thing over and over when you say or sign a word, then give them positive reinforcement by acknowledging their attempt and then help them by taking their hands and help them do the sign again.

Andrea Ploehn

Ben just turned 10 months old!

Andrea — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:16:41 +0000

It’s amazing how fast they grow up. It’s been so fun doing sign language with another baby. So far he recognized about 10 signs and he can actually sign: up, all done, more, and eat.

And can you believe this little guys walking! He has to keep up with the other two.

Andrea Ploehn

New Videos with Signing 4 Baby!

Andrea — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:18:50 +0000

I’m so excited about some new videos we just finished filming… they’re being edited right now. I’ve developed an amazing program that has 13 lessons in it. I decided to put this program together so that parents don’t get overwhelmed and they know exactly what to do and when to do it. I’ve been teaching baby sign language classes for years now and I tend to get the same questions from parents over and over. So I took the most common questions and I’ve given you straight forward answers.

Each lesson contains new signs to work on, research about baby sign language, skill development tips, personal stories on how the signs worked for me, video clips of babies in the stages of signing, how to implement the new signs, and much more!

I haven’t seen anything else like this anywhere. This is the ultimate parents guide! I feel it’s so important for the parents to learn how to use sign language so that they are the primary influence on the babies learning experience. If the parent isn’t giving their child added attention and interaction, then many of the benefits that are connected with baby signing don’t tend to happen. The key is the added involvement and connection that the parent has with the child.

I know you guys are going to love this, I’ll let you know when we have everything together!

Andrea Ploehn, www.signing4baby.com

Great tips on Baby Sign Language

Andrea — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:15:40 +0000

Ben started signing up at 8 months and more at 9 months old. Here are some great video clips so that you can see some examples of the very first attempts of a baby using sign language.

Holidays

Deborah — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:03:46 +0000

Too busy? The holidays are a great time to give your baby extra attention, and here’s how. When family is around and they want to play and hold your baby, teach them the signs you have been working on. Your relatives will love learning the new signs and then they can work with your baby too. Even younger kids who play with your baby can pick up a new sign quickly and sign it for you. It makes a great time with family and really enhances your holiday experience with your extended family. Just for fun try the signs for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Thanksgiving: with two flat hands at chin sign thank you and then extend your flat hands out one more time as if to give.

Christmas: left arm bent in front of your body, palm down, right hand with “C” handshape starting at left arm and then arcing up from left arm to end with right arm bent in front, palm left and hand in “C” handshape.

Deborah Parrish

Ben my 7 month old is signing up!

Andrea — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:29:44 +0000

Most infants starting as early as 5 months give their parents sure signs of communication. Some of them grunt for things they want or hit the table to get attention. They look at you like you should understand exactly what is going on in their head. That’s why it’s such an awesome feeling to see your infant sign for the first time, because you know what is going on in their head. My little Ben has become quite a mommas boy… probably because if he’s left on the ground he’ll get wrestled by his two year old brother. Every time I pick him up I say up and sign up.

Just this last week when he’d crawl over to me I’d say “up” and he would raise one of his arms up, attempting to mimic my signing. Of course he didn’t do the sign perfectly, but I knew what he was trying to say. When your child begins signing, 9 out of 10 times they wont do it perfectly. Many parents don’t even pick up on the fact that their child is attempting to signs. You really have to watch for it.

My cousin for instance said she’d been signing to her son for a few months, but he didn’t seem interested. I was spending the day with her so I tried to watch for any signs he might be trying and sure enough, he was definitely signing “more”. He would sort of clap his hands together, so she didn’t really recognize that he was using this as his way of saying more. We experimented with him a little and again and again, he used the same clapping motion to sign more.

It’s important that once you realize your baby is attempting to sign, you praise them and acknowledge their communication. Also remember that each time they attempt a sign, it;s helpful to take their hands and put them in the correct positions so they can feel how to do the sign correctly. It wont take long before they are little communicating machines!