When many people first decide to teach their child to sign, they jump right in with the first words without laying the proper groundwork for success. That is, they do not review some of the key elements that will make signing easier and more rewarding for both parent and child. In this post, we cover two of the elements to help ensure you have sucess with teaching baby sign language. We cover the issues of initial timing and content. That is, we discuss when you should start signing with your child, and, in this context, what words you should first teach your child to sign.

The Timing Question- When to Start

An initial question that parents have when they decide to teach their baby sign language is at what age to begin introducing signs. As with most questions like this, there is no specific rule on an exact age to begin signing. Every child is different, developing at his or her own pace. Most experts agree, however, that children cannot distinguish signs in any meaningful way prior to 6 months of age. More likely, a child will begin to distinguish signs at around 10 months of age.

Generally, we recommend that people start to to introduce basic signs when the child is 6 to 9 months old. Your child will begin signing basic signs back to you when she is around 10 months of age. Starting around 12 months of age, you can start introducing some more absract, secondary signs. As your child gets older, and begins speaking his first words, you may start combining signs for "baby sentences". But again, there is no definite time frame for which your baby will develop signs.

Always pay attention to your baby's body language and facial expressions for cues as to when she is ready to start the learning process. Use your intuition in this regard. Teaching sign langauge should be a natural process between you and your baby. When a baby starts sitting up and showing interest in the activities around her, they are likely ready to begin learning signs. In particular, if your child is following what you’re doing with your hands, she may very well be receptive to your instruction. These nonverbal cues will tell you that baby is now ready to be taught.

Lots of children don’t make their first sign until 10 months of age or later, and some not before 12 months. Please do not worry if your child does not immediately sign back to you. It may seem like it is taking him forever. But rests assured. Althouh the first few signs may come very slowly, one day your child will start to learn signs at a rapid pace. You will likely have a hard time keeping up! And then the pace may slow again. Signing with your child will be filled with stops and starts and fast and slow periods. But if you stick with it, you will succeed in teaching your child to sign.

The Word Question- What to Sign When

After you have decided it is time to start teaching your child to sign, you must decide which words to start with. It is important that you choose only a few basic words to begin teaching your baby. Otherwise, you could overwhelm your baby, and yourself, with a large number of signs. We recommend that you only work on three to four new signs at any given time. Once your child learns a sign you are working on, add another sign to teach him.

Babies will recognize a sign before they start using it as their own. The recognition of words is known as “receptive language”, while being able to form words (including signs) is called “expressive language”. Pay attention to your child’s facial expressions when you are teaching her a sign. Your baby's expression may tell you when he begins to recognize the sign. For example, her eyes may light up with a smile when you sign the word “milk”. After he recognizes a sign, your baby will likely begin "expressing" that sign soon thereafter.

Finally, remember to always introduce and reinforce new signs at the correct moment in time. Again, working on a handful of signs, introduce them before, during, and/or after an activity that goes with the sign. A great time to teach “milk”, for example, is when you are giving your baby milk and after they are finished drinking their milk. Conversely, try not to teach a sign out of context. If your child is playing with a toy truck, do not try teach the sign for milk.

Best wishes and good luck in teaching your chlid to sign. Stay tuned for our next article for more fundamentals to succeed in your signing endeavors. For now, click the following link for our website and more information on signing with your child.