Awhile ago, we made a parenting decision that we were going to try to teach Isabel to use Baby Signs (basically, these are variations of American Sign Language, to teach babies the common signs that would help them to communicate, before they have the verbal skills to say the words). We started very basic, using "More" and "All Done" during meal times, so that she could tell us whether she wanted more food or if she was all done, without having to get frustrated and bang her tray, scream, etc.
She picked these two signs up (not with 100% consistency, but pretty well) around 1 year old, and they were really helpful! So, we started with some other signs. It was pretty amazing because once she knew the two basic signs, it was pretty easy to teach her others. She learned "Hungry," "Thirsty," (which is the sign for "Milk" but is often used in Baby Signs to mean "Thirsty") and "Sleepy" by the time she was 13 months old. More recently, she has learned "Please" and "Help" and is learning "Thank You." (She has her own variation of "Thank You" which often happens with babies, but they will eventually make the sign correctly). She is also learning "Kitty" and "Puppy" ("Dog"), and our favorite one that she just did last night for the first time when Daddy was putting her to bed, is "I Love You."
Isabel definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it, and the signs are so helpful in her communicating with us, cutting down on her tantrums! We are going to continue the use of these signs up until she has the verbal skills to say the words. We have some photos of her doing "Hungry," "Thirsty," and "Sleepy."
No comments:
Post a Comment