My 3 And Half Yr Old Is Now Arguing About What Sign Is Right!

srlevesque

srlevesque

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2010
Messages
65
Reaction score
5
I need some advice guys, I am raising my 3.5 yr old grand daughter and I've had her about 2 yrs. I use ASL (I'm late deaf) and I also speak. I haven't been very consistent on signing with her 24/7, altho I do sign daily just voice as well, and now she is arguing with me about sign. She will make up signs for words and argue that hers is right and mine is wrong!! I don't know what to do, I don't want to make the use of ASL a negative thing for her and not let her have her signs but I've tried to explain over and over that she is not signing properly. Please help!!
 
Do you happen to have any friends that also sign? Perhaps you could take her to see them and then ask them to sign whatever words she's not signing properly then she'll see that it's not just you that signs it the proper way, but many others do to. That'll encourage her to sign it right as she'll want to fit in and communicate effectively.
 
Perhaps find some signing videos (Signing Time??) that would have those words in use and she can see others using the right signs.

Plus, she's at that "first teenage years", so she may just being rebellious. ;)
 
My 3 year old also changes signs, although she does them wrong because her hand can't do the same thing, like cat, she doesn't always close her index finger. But I just keep signing the right sign and fixing her fingers. I have shown her signing videos but she has not tried to copy them.
 
srlevesque said:
I need some advice guys, I am raising my 3.5 yr old grand daughter and I've had her about 2 yrs. I use ASL (I'm late deaf) and I also speak. I haven't been very consistent on signing with her 24/7, altho I do sign daily just voice as well, and now she is arguing with me about sign. She will make up signs for words and argue that hers is right and mine is wrong!! I don't know what to do, I don't want to make the use of ASL a negative thing for her and not let her have her signs but I've tried to explain over and over that she is not signing properly. Please help!!
Click to expand...

good grief!...she's 3 and 1/2....
 
You are mixing up two languages. Do pure sign when signing and she will have to work to understand the sign.
 
rockin'robin said:
good grief!...she's 3 and 1/2....
Click to expand...
I know and I really don't expect perfection, I'm not that anal! lol! Just wondered if anyone else had this problem..I was worried on what to do about it? If this was a normal thing or just my stubborn and imaginative child!:D
 
LoveBlue said:
Perhaps find some signing videos (Signing Time??) that would have those words in use and she can see others using the right signs.

Plus, she's at that "first teenage years", so she may just being rebellious. ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, just loving those "first teenage years"! lol! But that does make sense..Thanks!
 
Keep signing your right sign language. sign at her eye level sitting down, not standing up. She will get it.
 
It sounds just like what hearing kids do with spoken language. It's a linguistic developmental stage in which they start playing with and manipulating language in order to better understand it's rules.

It's not a bad thing - it's just normal. Don't make a big deal out of it (it's like if a toddler decides randomly that a "cup" is now called a "wiggit" for a week or a month lol)

Continue signing it properly , and heck when you're playing around, maybe toss in the made up sign for giggles.
 
Yeah, it's pretty normal. I wouldn't worry about it - if she's able to argue about it with you, she's already recognising your sing.
 
Back
Top