Teaching a 1 year old to sign

[MamaOfWill]

Hello hello, please help with advice,

My husbond and I have been signing to my baby since birth, yet now at 13 months old, he's not really signing back as we were hoping.  He only uses about 10 signs.  I know he knows many of them because sometimes when he doesn't understand what I'm asking, signing helps him.

My son loves little reader, so I'm making some signing categories for him.  I don't want these to be reading categories, so I'll basically only dislplay a picture/video of the word and then a video of me or my husbond signing that word.  Our other delemma is that we're teaching him 3 languages at the same time.  So now I'm thinking, should the categories include all three languages played back randomly, or do you guys think that I should only use his strongest language to teach the signs?

I'd also love some advice on how to speed up his sign learning and how to encourage him to use signs.

[Maquenzie]

I just wanted to encourage you that it will come.  Signing in daily life is the most important step (and the only one I did with one of kids, and he did well).  Just because he isn't doing them back yet doesn't mean he doesn't know them or won't show more soon.

Is he working on other developmental areas? (like walking)

He's entering a phase where language is about to explode, so my guess is that he'll show you more soon.

How frequently do you add new signs? How many? And do you sign fluently (is that the right word? I mean as you would if you were using it to communicate with someone who is deaf.)?  (I didn't. Mostly because I don't know enough for that, but I think it may have helped him show signs sooner as they stood out more.  Though, they learn less if I show less even if it shows more quickly.)

Others will probably be better able to advise you on the multiple language aspect.

Keep up the good work!

[Sharpie]

I started signing with my son when he was about 8 months old without being very consistent.  There was no indication that he was learning anything after a reasonable amount of time, so at 12 months, we started him on Baby Signing Time videos, and he took off!

[seastar]

I just love the Baby Signing Time DVDs too. Unfortunately, we have only just discovered them!
When first teaching my daughter signs, I spent around 9 months not knowing if she really 'got' them and then she just took off, probably around your little boy's age, so I would say: be patient, use signs at every available opportunity & you will be rewarded very very soon.

[mybabyian]

I personally think it is awesome that he can already sign 10 words.  Considering your typical one year old has a vocabulary of one word I'd say he is doing incredible.  I was anxious for my son to sign more too as I had heard that babies could sign at 8 or 9 months.  I can't remember how old he was when he first signed but he did eventually.  Now at sixteen months he signs about 30 words and speaks about 30-35 words and he is starting to combine two words like "more book", "Daddy sleeping", "Mommy potty"   Okay so everyone here knows you have no privacy with a toddler.  

I am thrilled with how my son is doing.  Sure, maybe other people's kids on this forum signed/spoke more at his age (sounds like your son will   ).  I also don't know enough to teach him very much more, but I love that today when we were outside with the wind blowing in the trees he kept signing tree to me.  How cool is that to have that communication and window into what he is thinking and taking in?  My son's pediatrician wanted him to be able to say 5-10 words by now.  

What you do with LR I think depends on what is more important for him to learn.  If it is more important to you that he signs you might play it safe and use his most dominant language.  If it is more important for him to learn the other languages than mix them up.  I sign with my son whether I am speaking English or Spanish.  I think it is a good bridge across the languages. I don't think it confuses him at all.

[mybabyian]

I forgot to mention one thing that really helps is to manipulate their hands for them to show them the signs.  It is amazing how well that works actually.  I read that in a book and as soon as I started doing it he quickly picked up many new signs.

[seastar]

I forgot to mention one thing that really helps is to manipulate their hands for them to show them the signs.  It is amazing how well that works actually.  I read that in a book and as soon as I started doing it he quickly picked up many new signs.

That is what worked for us too

[MamaOfWill]

Thank you guys so much for all the advice, you guys are great! 

I actually started off with British signs, but then got lazy with looking them up so I used ASL ones that I saw on youtube videos and also made up many signs.  My husbond and I use the same signs though, so there's at least that consistency.  We don't sign full sentances, mostly single words, 3 word sentances max.  I think we're using about 200 signs.  One delemma  is that he's in my arms many times when I want to sign or sitting on my lap reading a book, then signing seems almost impossable 

It's also hard to get him to look at me, for instance, we'll be outside and he descovers a feather / worm / snail or whatever, and I would sign and talk all excited, but then he doesn't look at my hands.  Other times I will tell him "that is a ...." and he will look up with the greatest interest at my hands and then, nothing, I don't know the sign 

Anyhow, I think I just need to be more patient, I'll try, but it's hard.

"Mommy potty"    Okay so everyone here knows you have no privacy with a toddler. 

- thanks for that one, I had a good laugh too, and it sounds like your little one is doing wonderful!

[seastar]

I started off with Irish Sign Language but there are so few resources. I have recently switched to ASL (as I love the Baby Signing Time & Signing Time series)

[mybabyian]

I am glad I could make you laugh.     I have that problem of not having free hands so much too.  I sign a lot while reading to him so most of the signs I do are one handed signs.     The say, though, that even if they are not directly looking at you they still absorb what you are saying/doing. 

On a little tangent, I am so happy that I have been signing with Ian.  The other day we went to the park to feed the ducks.  I didn't have any bread so I gave them a couple of grapes I had for Ian's.  One of the birds actually ate them.  Ian was so impressed by this, the next day he told me "duck" and "grapes" over and over again.  Duck he can say but "grapes" he can only sign.  If he had just told me duck I would have had no idea what he was talking about.  Anyway, I just thought it was neat that he could share his thoughts with me!  I wonder if it is some sort of milestone for them to talk about things that happened at another time.

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