Baby

Why All Babies Should Learn Sign Language

Sign Language Isn’t Just For The Hearing Impaired

Who knew babies could understand sign language as early as 6 months of age? I didn’t.

How often do you catch yourself thinking, ” I just wish I knew what you wanted!” as you look down at your upset baby?

That’s not what any mother wants to be thinking. It’s in our nature to want to instantly be able to understand and meet our little one’s needs.

It’s frustrating for everyone involved when no one knows what’s wrong.

Well… good news! Teaching your baby to sign can help you understand your little one better and give your baby a way to communicate with you.

Babies learn how to use their hands much earlier than they learn to talk.

Now you might think that teaching a baby who can hear just fine might be counter-productive but it is actually the opposite!

Research has stated that teaching your baby sign language actually improves their cognitive understanding. 

How To Get Started

Think about words that you would use on a regular basis with your baby; like, drink, eat, mom, dad, etc.

Begin teaching your baby these signs between 4 and 6 months of age. Teach them by showing them the object, person, or action and then using the sign.

The first sign I started teaching my baby was milk. I use the milk sign whenever it is time to breastfeed.

The other two signs we started with were puppy and sleep. She loves watching our dogs run around the house and play, and we felt sleep was an important sign to be able to express, so those were our top 3 signs.

Use what you believe will be most important in your lives.

Click this link for a list of common signs.

Click this link to watch a video about 10 easy signs from a mom who uses sign language in her home. I really enjoyed this video.

If signing is done on a regular basis you should start noticing your baby trying to communicate with you as early as 8 months.

Your baby might even start making up their own signs, and if they do just go along with it! Remember the important thing here is that you are able to communicate together, so as long as you both know what it means that’s all that matters.

You’ve already got a cool new ‘secret’ language with your child and that’s only going to bring you closer to one another.

Now it is important that everyone in the home stays on the same page. Consistency is key!

The Benefits of Sign Language

Things to Remember

  • This is going to take time.
  • This is going to take patience.
  • This is going to take consistency.

But don’t let that stop you from being able to start understanding your baby several months before they begin talking.

I can’t wait to hear about how teaching your baby sign language has improved your ability to communicate together.

baby sign language tips
Latest posts by Kayti Klaus (see all)

Kayti was the original founder of Daisies and Diapers before moving on to focus on her Real Estate career. Kayti loves her husband Ryan and spends as much of her days as possible with their beautiful daughter, Taytum and their two fur babies, Kanon and Soni.

Leave a Reply