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Home › Articles › General › Baby Signs

Baby Signs

Baby Sign Language Creates Lasting Bonds

By Nancy Cadjan

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Four Steps to Start Baby Sign Language
You and your baby don't need to learn a new language. You are just borrowing some basic ASL signs and adding them to your conversations. These signs give your baby a way to communicate back. You can learn as few as five signs or as many as 100 to 300 signs to enrich your relationship.

Here are some basic steps:

  • Start with three to five signs. Start with signs for the things babies do and need most like "milk," "more," "eat," "bath" or "sleep." Start when Baby is between 6 and 8 months and can hold your gaze for a few seconds. If Baby is older, start right away. If you have older children, involve them in teaching the baby and learning themselves. Most children love learning signs and get a real kick out of being able to communicate with babies.
  • Talk! Since your goal is to help your child become verbal, speak with your child as much as you can. When nursing or giving a bottle, make eye contact and say, "Do you want some milk?" and sign milk. Then, as you feed your child, open a dialog about the milk: "We're having milk. Milk is good!"
  • Be patient. Based on age and manual dexterity, you will see your child sign within a few weeks to a few months. That gives you time to learn more signs (see the suggested sites for ways to learn more signs). But remember, babies recognize the signs long before they can make them. You'll notice this when Baby looks excited when you sign "milk." She knows she is going to eat soon. If your child has special needs, be patient, as the process may take a bit longer. A baby's first signs don't always come out "right." Like in speech development, Baby's ability to sign will improve as she signs more. Encourage signing and if you think you see a sign like "milk," say, "Do you want some milk
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