8 Key Tips for Successfully Teaching Your Baby to Sign

1.  Always say the word and sign the word together.

By saying the word as you sign it, you are providing another avenue (auditory) for your baby to learn and understand the word or concept.

2.  Sign the one most important word out of the sentence or phrase you are speaking, and repeat it 2-3 times if possible.

Initially when you are signing, you want to keep it simple.  You should choose the most important word to sign from a phrase or sentence you are speaking.  When you do this, you are highlighting one particular word out of a phrase and slowing down your speech rate, making it easier for your baby to understand this word and grow his vocabulary.  For example, if you are asking your baby “Do you want some milk?” you would say this but only use the sign ‘MILK’ when you say the word “milk” at the end.

You also should try to say and sign the word 2-3 times to reinforce the connection between the word, sign, and object.  Still using the above example, you might say “Do you want some milk?  Yes you do want some milk!  You are thirsty for milk.”  As you can see, you have maximized this opportunity by speaking, signing, and showing the object three times.

3.  Always ’speak’ for your baby when he does the sign.

You should always say the word for what your baby has just signed.  Essentially you are speaking for your baby until he is able to speak for himself!

4.  Give your baby the goods (milk, cracker, toy, point to the picture) immediately after saying and signing the word.

The closer you are able to present the word, sign, and object together the more quickly he will start to associate them together and learn the concept.

5.  Look for small attempts at communication (sign or verbal) and validate them by signing and saying the word again.

Your baby is always trying to communicate with you.  Watch for hand and arm movements and listen for sounds your baby is making.  For example, your baby may be eating food and initially clasp his hands together for the sign “more”.  Since you were paying attention, you can say and sign “More!  Yes, you want more!” again.  This lets him know that you were paying attention to his attempt to communicate with you, and reinforces this attempt.  He is much more likely to do it again since he got a positive response from you (and more food too!).  All babies initially make approximations of signs and with time and increased muscle control, become more accurate.

6.  Give lots of kisses, smiles, and encouragement for any attempt at communication.

This is the easiest tip of all!  Signing should be fun and rewarding for both you and your baby.  When done in a positive way, your baby is encouraged to sign and will want to please you.  Do not ever force a baby to do a sign if he doesn’t want to.

7.  Continue to say and do the correct sign for your baby to reinforce communication.

Babies do not usually make signs correctly to begin with.  For example, your baby’s sign for “more” might start out as a clasp of two hands together, then change to a clap with open hands, then change to one hand using the “flat o” handshape while the other hand remains open, and then finally to using the “flat o” handshape with both hands and make the sign properly.  The same thing happens with speech.  Initially your baby might say “aaa” for ball, then “baaa”, and eventually say it correctly “ball”.  This process is normal, and just like you would continue to say the correct word “ball” for your baby while speaking, you should continue to use the correct sign while signing.  With a proper model, your baby’s sign and speech approximations will become accurate.

8.  Consistency, consistency, consistency.

You must be consistent with using signs each day, and across time.  Only through multiple exposures will your baby be able to learn the new sign and word you are teaching him.  Just like you wouldn’t expect your baby to know how to swim after only a couple lessons, you can’t expect him to learn a sign after seeing it once or twice.  As with swimming lessons, it is only after going all summer long for several years can a person become a decent swimmer.  The same applies to learning to sign.  Consistency is the key.