When Eliza was born her little cries melted my heart, I loved them. Now, I didn't let her sit and cry, I just knew she needed her mama when she would be calling for me. As she got older her cries changed. I could tell the difference between tired, hungry, or hurt. I never knew I would be able to but it is SO obvious to me.
Eliza is now at an age where she can communicate if given the right tools and teaching. She points at things she wants, does a little bounce when you pick it up, or throws it on the ground when she is done with it. Anything besides that, she just whines until you figure it out. As much as I love my little girl, her whining could drive Mother Theresa up a wall. I knew I had to do something to help her. That is when I decided to start baby sign language.
I purchased a DVD from Baby Steals one day and I couldn't wait for it to come. Well, I forgot all about it and decided to google baby sign language. Who needs an instructional dvd when you have the internet? I have had it for 2 months and still haven't opened it, I probably should, what if The Golden Ticket is in there???
When we would be eating dinner, either at home or out, Eliza would eat with us. We thought this was a great idea, she would learn eating as a family. Unfortunately it has back fired a little, whenever she sees us eating she thinks it is time for her to eat. Anyway, while eating Eliza will whine when she wants more food. This is pretty normal for kids who can't talk, but when you are in a restaurant it feels like she is standing on the table screaming "GIVE ME FOOD" and everyone is staring. So we decided we would start sign language with "more".
To teach her we repeated-repeated-repeated the sign. Before EVERY bite we would show her more with our hands, and hers. Eliza has really picked up the signs, she still whines a bit but she knows the signs will get her food faster. Once we knew she understood "more" we moved to "eat", she needed to be able to tell us when she was hungry. Some times she does eat, others she just looks at me and does more, but she gets her point across.
The latest sign we have done is "all done". It is difficult to know when she is done eating or just distracted. All done really helps us with meal time.
I am really liking that my little girl can communicate with us. My favorite of all of this is when we were at Eliza's DR appt yesterday. The DR was trying to look in her ears and she REALLY didn't like it. As he was looking she pulled away, looked at him, and signed "all done". The DR and I were about rolling on the floor! What a smart cookie I have!!
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4 comments:
Kaylin, years ago a friend of mine taught her son sign language and I thought for sure he would be to lazy to learn to use spoken words. I was wrong. He was just like your daughter and being able to communicate is very important to little people. My friend made a believer out of me. Good luck.
Baby Sign Language gained popularity after our kids were born, but it sounds like your little one has a good grasp on things! That story at the doctor's office is absolutely precious.
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My daughter is 15 months old and uses about 30 signs consistently. She watches very little t.v. The only show she's allowed to watch is her Baby Signing Time DVD. It is magic to her. It is a nice reinforcement to the signs I've taught her and I've also learned from it. It's also nice to show other family members so that they can understand her when she's signing away at them. I agree-the whining is unbearable at times. I think we have far fewer battles because she is able to express most of her needs. Good luck in your signing journey.
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