At birth, your baby has the ability to learn any language. If you speak English, so will your child. If you speak Spanish or Russian, so will your child. Parents who speak more than one language in the home teach these languages to their children who then have the advantage of growing up bi or multi-lingual. The children also seem to know when to use each language. Teaching sign language for babies from an early age will give them another advantage and tool in their development. Once your baby is about 7-8 months old she/he should have the motor skill co-ordination to be able to sign.

Your baby is always trying to let you know what she wants, right from birth. She (please read she to include he, it’s easier than writing she/he every time) cries when she’s hungry or wet or tired. As a hands on mum when my children were little I was always incredibly frustrated when I couldn’t understand what they were trying to tell me until a friend told me about sign language for babies.

There are many universal symbolic gestures such as arms reaching up to be picked up and waving bye bye. Even the huge smile your baby gives you and your partner is her way of saying hey I’m glad you’re here.

To begin with, you need to choose which method of signing you wish to use. After much research, the best method I have found is Sign Language for Babies and Beyond. Early signs should be needs based such as eat, milk, drink, more, sleep, change me. Mommy, daddy, dog (or cat depending on your pet) can be introduced fairly early as well as these are ‘people’ she sees daily. It will take time for her to understand that the dog or cat is not another person.

Show the sign at the start of the activity to begin with then introduce before the activity as well as if asking the question ‘do you want a drink’ etc. It is necessary to be consistent and show the sign every time. Make sure you teach your partner and any older children (if they don’t already know them) the signs as well so it becomes a fun family affair.

Keep adding new signs one at a time while still reinforcing the older signs. Always give the verbal cue with the sign - this will reinforce language skills down the track. Be prepared to realize that she will recognize a sign long before she makes it herself. However, when your baby does start to sign back you will naturally be overjoyed so don’t hold back on letting her know. Don’t be surprised if she uses the same sign for everything to begin with, this is normal development. Encourage her and keep showing the different signs as you do each activity - it won’t take long for her to understand. Frequently she will suddenly ‘get it’ and start using more than one sign in the correct context.

Have fun with it. As your baby gets older sign language for babies naturally lends itself to games and songs such as ‘open shut them’ and ‘incy wincy spider’ (although you may need to simplify this one).

Signing with your baby is another method of letting her know how much you love her and want the communication to be two-way. And if nothing else, it is a perfect excuse to spend a lot of time with your children.

An excellent resource and the one I used with my children is Sign Language for Babies and Beyond by Wendy Jensen who has been involved with American Sign Language for over sixteen years. She has worked as an interpreter for the hearing impaired, sign language mentor and ASL college instructor. Sign Language for Babies and Beyond comes as an ebook which means you can download it and the many bonuses immediately upon payment and start working with your baby today. It also comes with a 60 day money back guarantee. This is excellent value.

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