What Baby Signs Should I Do Next: Life After ‘MILK’
April 19, 2009 by Karianne Wilkins
Filed under Baby Sign Language, Featured Articles
Your baby will likely be engaging more in the environment around her, and this provides the perfect opportunity to introduce new signs. Food, toys, pets are all great places to start. With my two daughters, the signs they learned unfolded something like this:
- MILK
- FOOD/EAT
- HI
- BYE-BYE
- MORE
- ALL-DONE
- UP
- DOWN
- THIRSTY (I found this sign to be easier to do than ‘DRINK’)
- Foods such as CRACKER, CHEESE, WATER, JUICE, APPLE, COOKIE
- THANK-YOU
- PLEASE
- Animals such as DOG (puppy), CAT (kitty), COW, HORSE
- BATH
- DIAPER
- BALL
- BABY
- BOOK
For example, I taught ‘MORE’ by doing the sign each time before I gave her a bite of food. After doing this for about a week or two, I helped her put her hands together and said “more” while doing it. I then gave her a bite of food. Soon after that she began doing the sign by herself and I would say “more” for her and then give her more food.
I taught ‘ALL-DONE’ by doing it at the end of mealtime, bathtime, changing diapers, car rides…or any daily routine in our house.
You will find that after learning only a few signs your baby will begin to pick up signs more quickly. I believe it is because she has learned to watch your hands for signs, knows that what you do with your hands means something, and knows she can copy what you do in order to communicate. She is able to make the connection between the sign and concept/object more rapidly and it just snowballs from there.
The introduction of signs will vary for each family depending on the type of foods you eat, the animals you encounter, and your daily routine but this should provide you with a good starting point. You will be guided by your baby as to her interests and what her life revolves around, so I encourage you to use signs that will be most helpful and useful for you.
Have questions? Please email me at Karianne@earlybirdeducation.net
