What's Your Sign? How to Teach Your Baby Sign Language

Few things thrill a parent more than a child's first words. "Ma Ma" and "Da Da" sound like music to any parents' ears. But infant and toddler vocabulary is often very limited for the first two to three years.

The toddler years can be filled with frustration as child and caregiver struggle to communicate. Teaching your child sign language is a way to alleviate some of the frustration and increase communication. It is also a fun activity for parents and their babies to do together.

Learn Before You Teach

Teaching infants and toddlers sign language is a lot easier than you might think. First, you should educate yourself. Get a good book on teaching your baby sign language at the library, books store, or E-bay. One good choice is "Baby Signs" by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn.

Making flash cards with a picture of the sign on one side accompanied with the word on the other side is helpful. You can also enlist a partner to model signs with you.

Start with Easy Signs.

Pick some simple signs to begin teaching your child. Pick a couple of signs that are easy conceptually and physically for the baby to do. "More" is a good sign to start with. This is an easy concept that offers an immediate reward.

Model the signs at every opportunity. For instance, when your baby is finished eating and is ready to get out of the high chair, do the "out" sign. Or, when your baby asks to be picked up, do the "up" sign. You will be amazed at how quickly little minds pick up on these.

In addition to modeling the signs yourself, you can help your baby model the signs, too. Gently take the baby's hands and guide their hands to do the sign, too.

Use the Signs in Everyday Life

Make signs a part of everyday interaction with your baby. For example, when you give the child milk, do the "milk" sign. Eventually your baby will begin to make the connection of the two.

Repetition is important. As with learning any new skill, practice makes perfect. Use the sign and the word sign together a few times in a row when you know you have the baby's attention. This will help reinforce what you are trying to teach.

The Timetable

How early you begin using signs with your baby is up to you. Some people begin at birth. Others will begin at six months or later when conceptual things are a little clearer to the baby. The time to begin is up to the parent, knowing that the more the baby sees a sign, the earlier they will begin to model it.

How long will it take before baby starts to sign back? That varies with each child. The older the child is, the easier it is for them to learn to sign. This should not discourage teaching a younger baby signs. As a rule of thumb, if you child can wave "bye bye," chances are they can begin to learn simple signs. As they master the simple signs, they will be ready to move onto more complex ones.

Your Baby Will Teach You Signs, Too!

Don't be surprised if your child adapts some of the signs you teach him or even makes up his or her own. This isn't uncommon as they catch onto the concept. Some of the signs I taught my son are not the signs he ended up using. He adapted a few signs so they were easier for him to do. The point is not for the child to model all of the signs perfectly, the goal is communication. If you are communicating using some form of signing, as long as both of you know what the sign means, then you have success!

Not only will teaching your baby sign language increase communication between you and your baby, it has also been shown to boost bonding with caregivers and even increase the IQ! Now how can you go wrong with that?