Help them talk early: Baby Sign Language

Sign Language for Baby

Starting baby sign early with Love Bug was a really great way to give her the ability to start communicating to me what she wanted before she could actually form the words.  

I prioritized just 5 basic signs:

1. MORE - Tap fingers together. 

2. ALL DONE - Shake hands.

3. PLEASE - Trace in circle on chest.

4. THANK YOU - Start at chin and pull away from chin. 

5. WATER - Move finger tips back and forth at chin. 

These are the basics, but there are obviously many more.  This is my favorite American SignLanguage baby chart.

My theory is the more tools we give them to express themselves the more they will be, and thus feel, understood.  This can bring a lot of harmony to a home.  It also helps when you are trying to enjoy a meal out at a restaurant with a toddler.  All of these little steps are working toward achieving a big goal – teaching your child that what they think, they can say, and eventually what they say they can write and they write they can read – this is the cycle of literacy. 

How I Taught Sign to my Love Bug

As we went about our day I would reinforce my words with signs.  If she was eating and would make her grunt or gestures like the she wanted more, I would look at her and ask, “Do you want more?” and do the sign for more as I repeated “More?”  Sometimes I would physically help her make the sign with her hands.  I found repetition and follow through to be important.  After a while I started asking her to make the sign and not give her what she wanted until she made an attempt.  She picked it up pretty quickly.