Baby signing is a great activity for moms and babies to do together. It’s fun, it’s free – and can even help with bonding and reduces tantrums! It’s easy to get started teaching Baby Sign Language – read on to find out how…
- Start at any time: You can start at any time, even from birth. The sooner you start to sign with your baby the sooner he can start signing back. If your baby is older it’s still worthwhile learning to sign. Even by the time your child can say a few simple words you may find that learning baby sign language helps him communicate and reduces frustration.
- Start simply: Pick a few simple signs and concentrate on these signs over and over again. Popular choices as starter signs are Mommy, Daddy, and Milk, as these signs represent something really interesting to your baby.
Click on image above to print this free Baby Sign Language Starter Chart
- Repeat often: Lots of repetition is important. Use the sign and say the word often every day. With older babies you can also use Flash Cards to help your child picture the object you are signing.
- Be patient: Don’t expect your baby to start signing immediately. Most babies over the age of six months need about two months of exposure to a sign before they can begin to use it themselves.
- Use encouragement: Encourage all your baby’s efforts at signing, even if you don’t know what sign your baby is trying to make. Use good eye contact, a positive tone of voice, lots of cuddles and bags of attention to show your baby you are proud of his efforts.
- Expand your vocabulary: When you and your baby have mastered your first signs you can begin to introduce new signs. Stick to groups of similar signs when introducing a new set of signs, for example food, colors, emotions (happy, sad, angry etc), or animals.
- Make it fun: Baby sign language is all about having fun with your baby and communicating in a relaxed and loving atmosphere. Don’t take it too seriously – if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong!
- Go to a class: Classes are a great way to learn baby sign language. If there is one near you, and you enjoy it, then take baby along. A good Baby Signing class will be fun, repeating and building on a foundation of simple signs before moving on to new ones.
- Do it at home: If you can’t find a class nearby, don’t worry. There are tons of free resources on the Internet for you to download and print for use at home. Try to get hold of some Baby Sign Language Flash Cards and a wall chart to refer to when you need to learn a new sign – or mug up on an old one.
- Get Dad involved: Baby sign language is not only for moms. Dads can sometimes feel left out with a new baby, and signing is a great activity for dads and babies to do together.
Chief Editor, Baby Sign Language
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We used baby signs with my first and it seemed to really eliminate some of the frustration with communication before he could talk. We just used eat, drink, more and all done. I think with this little one we will try a few more! Thanks Misty for these great baby sign language tips!
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5 Comments:
very nice blog , great job , hope to be your friend .
What a great starter article! There are so many misconceptions about signing with babies - and I was shocked at how many random strangers stopped me in the store and told me I'd be inhibiting his speech by teaching him to sign.
The opposite was true! He was ahead of the curve by more than twice! :)
What some people get discouraged by, is that receptive sign language comes earlier for the baby, before they have the fine motor skills to sign themselves. So keep going! My kiddo understood "hungry" at 2 months old and would stop fussing as soon as I signed "eat". Such a great tool for babies!
Thanks for posting this :)
Oh my gosh I love this website!! Thanks for sharing!! I love baby signs and those flash cards are so helpful!!!
I just wanted to say that the sign for Cereal is incorrect. That is the sign for SOUP.
I am a deaf mom with 1 deaf daughter and a hard of hearing son. Them signing early did not hold them back at all. They are I believe smarter because of it.
Children delay speech when they do not hear any talking at all. If they are deaf or, even hearing, and brought up in a deaf home and they do not get the speech language on a daily basis, then yes they can be delayed. But Generally it puts the kids ahead, when they sign.
Relieved to see this baby signs are "REAL" ASL signs and not made up. There is a company or 2 out there teaching "home signs" that are not even Sign Language signs. Just ones they figures were easier for the kids to do. Those are the ones I can't believe are educating the public. So thanks for them to teaching actual REAL ASL Signs.
My daughter in law has taught sign language to her babies. It was so cute to see my little 18 month old granddaughter using her sign language to tell us what she wanted.
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