Teach Your Baby Sign Language

AJ, 12 months, signs TEACH

It is easy to teach your baby sign language. By following a few simple guidelines, you and your baby will be signing together in no time at all! However, before we dive into the nitty-gritty of teaching your baby to sign, there is one piece of advice I would like to offer you as you embark on your signing journey. That advice is for you to relax, be patient, above all else, have lots of fun with it. While this advice may seem fairly obvious, many parents put pressure on themselves and fret if they feel their baby is not picking it up. Babies should never feel pressured to sign nor should they ever feel like parents or caregivers are disappointed in them for not signing. Allow signing to happen naturally and try to remember that signing with your baby is something you have chosen to do to help you be more responsive to him and it should in no way be a chore for either of you. Keeping that in mind as you teach your baby sign language will go along way on those days when you think he is not getting it and you feel like giving up.

Getting Started Teaching A Baby Sign Language

The time you choose to start to teach your baby sign language is completely up to you. The truth is it is never too early or too late to begin signing. The general consensus for those of you who have no prior knowledge of sign language is to wait until your child is approximately six to seven months old to begin introducing signs. Prior to this age, most babies do not have good memory retention so it is unlikely that they will produce any signs before they are around six months old (although it is not completely unheard of!). The recommendation to wait to being signing is mainly to help prevent parents and caregivers from getting discouraged when their infant does not sign back right away. There is less likelihood of giving up if the wait for expressive signing is only a few weeks as opposed to nine or ten months.

When To Start Signing With Baby

As previously stated, you can begin using sign language with your baby at any time but most infants will not begin to sign back for many months. In addition, there are a few signing stages your baby will likely pass through on her way to becoming a signing baby. Whether you begin signing at or shortly after birth, or decide to wait until baby is a little older, there are a few things you can watch for to determine if your infant is receptive and ready to begin signing. The basic rule of thumb is that your child should be able to sit independently, maintain eye contact or hold a gaze for more than a couple of seconds, and be able to point, wave bye-bye and mimic other similar hand gestures.

The point at which your baby will actually begin expressively signing is not an exact science. Just as with all developmental milestones, your baby will produce his first sign when the time is right for him. Much will depend not only on the age in which you begin modeling signs but also on how frequently and consistently you use them. Repetition and consistency are paramount to your baby’s ability to recognize that signs have meaning. A baby is much more likely to begin signing sooner than later if his parents and caregivers sign to him on a regular basis.

That said, a baby who is consistently and habitually exposed to sign language will probably produce his first signs somewhere between the ages of eight and twelve months, with the average being ten months old. As stated above, however, all babies are different in their development as well as their interest in communicating. A baby whose motor skills are a bit more refined and who has a high level of interest in communicating might produce her first sign at six month. Alternatively, a calm, laidback baby who enjoys taking in the scenery may not be in any hurry to communicate and might not start signing until 18 months. Do not worry and do not get discouraged if this is your baby! Rest assured that if you are routinely modeling signs your baby will eventually begin signing back.

Teach Your Baby Sign Language Continued...