Signs for two moms

[lemurmommies]

In the same vein as titles for more than one mom or dad...

We have started using some signs with our 3 month old DS. So far we have introduced the sign for milk, and a sign for his name. We would like to start signing mommy and mama to him, but I am unsure of whether we should use the same sign for the both of us, or whether we should try and differentiate them somehow.

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Does anyone have any ideas or personal experience with this? Thanks so much!

[girlie1125]

I asked DP, who is hearing impaired. She says you could try to differentiate the signs, but that in doing so, it would likely be too complicated a sign for wee ones. As long as DS hears the difference when you both say and sign the word, he'll catch on that the "mom" sign = parents, whichever one he's trying to get the attention of at that moment.

She says "You wouldn't necessarily introduce two different signs for the word 'cat' just because the child knows two different cats, right? Its the same thing. Both Moms have the same meaning to the child...they're a Mom. Kids know the difference between the two cats, and will know the difference between the two moms, too."

Maybe not the answer you were looking for, but one lifelong signer's perspective

[lemurmommies]

Thanks so much!!! That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. My DP laughed out loud at the cat analogy... too true.

We were also thinking that as our DS got older, we/he could use the sign for mom followed by the sign for the first letter of our names if we/he needed to differentiate. Although, by that point, he may well be talking...

[lexbeach]

Our boys learned to say "mama" right about the same time that they started signing (10-11 months). Dw was "mama," and we joke that my name was the sign for nursing, lol, since they always did it when they wanted me. In truth, I was always with them (I am a SAHM), so they never had any reason to refer to me. They didn't start speaking my name ("mom") until 15 or 16 months. And they didn't get really clear about who was mom and who was mama until maybe 20 months or so. We always knew who they were talking about, though. We didn't use signs for any people at all. Names were some of their very first spoken words, so I guess it wasn't necessary (they signed nursing, more, eat, all done, drink, help, drive, several specific foods, up, several specific animals, bath, diaper change, blanket, moon, airplane . . . I think that's it!).

I definitely wouldn't worry about it!

Lex