Teaching Tots: Sign Language

I thought I'd start my "Teaching Tots" series with sign language.


Sign language with infants is something that I'm very passionate about. I started my thesis on signing when I was in graduate school.


Signing has become a 'trend' in parenting, and whether you're doing it because you want to keep up with others or because you see the benefits of it- it doesn't really matter.


Signing with infants and toddlers, can decrease frustrations when communicating and has been shown to increase language skills.


If you decide to sign with your child, you need to make sure that you are determined to follow through and be consistent. You will need to learn the signs, whether they're ones your family has made up, or American Sign Language (ASL).


First, decide which signs you would like to teach your child. I suggest that you don't start with "more". Although, that's the sign Gretchen is using in the picture above. You'll also need to determine a starting point or age. I started signing with Gretchen at 3 months, although I didn't expect her to pick up the signs early on. We also choose to start with 'milk' since that's the only thing she was eating at the time!


When you sign, make sure that you produce the sign as you are saying the word. Always pair the two together. In order for cause/effect to be established make the sign and perform the action within 3-10 seconds. You can continue to make the sign as the child is eating or performing the action, as repetition is key in learning.


I was suprised at how early Gretchen learned to sign 'milk'. Although, I wasn't sure that she was signing 'milk' to indicate she wanted 'milk' at 4 & 5 months old, I do think she saw me performing the sign numerous times and she simply imitated that action because mommy did it. Also, be aware, that babies don't have the motor skills that we do, so their sign may look differently. The sign for 'milk' is an opening and closing of the fist, but Gretchen would rub her fingers on her hand, like a fist. She continues to sign 'milk' this way.


Babies can begin to sign themselves as early as 6 months. Although, we see it more around 8 months, which is when I noticed Gretchen signing with more intent. A baby also learns to wave "bye" around this same time frame. If you think about it, a wave of "bye" is a sign- it's a gesture indicating an action.


You may want to start with 1-2 signs, and then expand your babies vocabulary from there. Choose words that are the most important for your baby to know. Again, we choose 'milk', then we choose words such as 'mommy, daddy, eat, please, thank you'. "More" was taught after Gretchen knew other nouns.


I want to caution you about teaching "more" to your baby as one of his/her first words. If you walk into a room, and spot your baby signing 'more', you don't know what they want 'more' of. But, if you walk into a room, and your baby is signing 'milk', you know exactly what they want.


'Please' ended up being a very powerful sign for Gretchen to know. We taught it to her as we were flying to visit family for Christmas, and she did not imitate it until several days later. She started to rub her chest when she saw a tube of puffs. I looked at DJ and asked why she was rubbing her chest, and it dawned on me that she was asking 'please' for the puffs. 'Please' also happend to be one of Gretchen's 1st words.


If you don't know sign language there are several websites that can provide you with the tools you need to know. I don't suggest in buying large books. You can find all that you want for free on the internet. Just bookmark the pages and refer back to them often. Study the signs with your spouse or family members, so they can incorporate sign language when they're speaking with your baby. It's also important to give a crash course in the most used signs when leaving your baby with a caregiver. Obviously, not everyone knows sign language, and if that's the way your baby communicates, then the caregiver needs to know what the gestures mean.


Signing Baby (http://www.signingbaby.com/) is one of my favorite websites. It gives a lot of information on why you should sign, how to get started, advantages, hints, a photo gallery, and a signing baby dictionary.

My Baby Can Talk (http://www.mybabycantalk.com/) also has a dictionary of signs. This site also sells products related to baby signing.

Life Print shares 100 first signs a baby might use, as well as practice activities for the parents.

This website gives an entire list of words (alphabetical). Simply click on a word, and it will show you how to do the sign with an explanation.

My favorite of all though, is Signing Time. This was the only t.v. show that Gretchen was allowed to watch for a long period of time. I loved that it would teach her signs, but it would also teach me signs. Signing Time use to come on our pbs station, but not anymore. Occassionally, you can catch some of the songs on Nickelodeon. You may also purchase Signing Time videos from their website or from Best Buy.


You can YouTube videos of Signing Time songs, or "baby sign language" for instructional videos.

At age 27 months, continues to sign. Although, she doesn't rely on it often she pull those tricks out of her hat when she really wants something. 'Please' and 'milk' are still her most favorite signs.


If you have any questions about signing with your baby please ask! I hope that you'll consider it!