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Teaching Baby Sign Language

Signing with your Hearing Baby

by Nicole Dean

Baby sign is the term for signing with your hearing baby. Parents everywhere are realizing the benefits of teaching American Sign Language to their hearing children before the baby is capable of speech. Neither parent nor child, in most cases, has hearing difficulties.

Benefits of Teaching Hearing Babies Sign Language

Some of my favorite reasons for signing have come from many years of research from expert Joseph Garcia, author of the SIGN with your BABY Complete Learning Kit. Some of the benefits I have personally witnessed are:

• Less frustration for baby - Imagine how it feels to grunt and point and not be able to ask for what you want. Put yourself in your baby's shoes. You've been playing and now your mouth is dry and you're really thirsty for milk. You grunt and point and whine for milk -- and your mother misunderstands and gives you a dry cracker instead, thinking you're hungry for a snack. You feel very frustrated and possibly angry. You might even throw the cracker back at your mother or hit her out of frustration. But, if you could simply sign milk and get milk? Pure bliss!
• Self-esteem - Babies who sign are able to interact and be acknowledged at a  younger age. Imagine looking at a book about fish with your baby. She can show you that she understands the story by signing "fish" to you. You know that the baby is understanding and benefiting from the story and you can respond "yes, it is a blue fish", thereby rewarding her for her efforts.
• Sibling bonding - Older siblings are given the tools to bond with their new brother or sister sooner, because the baby can sign well before speech is possible. Not only is there a bond, but I've witnessed a sense of camaraderie because the older sibling can act as an interpreter for the baby in situations with other non-signing adults.

How to start Signing

You may, at this point, feel overwhelmed. After all, you are learning a second language -- with no one to teach you. Please don't worry. First of all, you only need to learn a few words to being signing. 

I recommend beginning with 6 words -- 3 that are of importance to you and will make your life easier (for instance, eat, milk, more, etc.) and 3 that are of interest to your baby (for instance, airplane, ball, book, dog, cat, baby, etc.). This ensures that both of you are rewarded for your efforts.

Once you choose a few words, you can begin signing when you say that specific word. When your baby cries and you say "Do you want milk?" Sign milk at the baby's eye level so she will begin to associate the cause and effect and realize HANDS MEAN SOMETHING!

At what age should you start? You can start from birth on. The earlier you start, the more time you as the parent will have to learn the signs and get comfortable signing. The only drawback to starting early is that you'll also have to wait longer before your baby begins signing back.

Babies 6 months and older will start to watch your hand movements, and may begin to make very rudimentary attempt to sign back to you as early as 8 months, but definitely by one year old.

If you have an older baby or toddler who is having frustration issues or is a late talker, begin signing. Start today.

Fun and Games

In addition to signing to words that you speak, there are plenty of fun activities and games to do with your child to teach signing.

Some of my favorites are:

• Reading - Simply looking through picture books together and signing the names of animals and foods is a fun way to interact with your baby.
• Videos - Sit with your baby and watch a Baby Einstein Video together. Sign the different objects as they come on the screen.
• Singing - Old favorite songs like "Old McDonald" are perfect for signing. Or find new favorite Children's CDs to sing and sign with.
• Games - Put toys under a blanket and ask the baby to find them. Simple words to sign are "ball", "phone", "hat", or even "book".

Recommendations for Parents to Learn

SIGN with your BABY Training Video - US DVD - I recommend this video. It isn't a cute, fun children's video, but a good instructional video for parents to learn.

Or if you'd like the entire kit (book, DVD, guide), this is a great learning tool for parents - SIGN with your BABY Complete Learning Kit: US DVD Version, Book, Training Video (DVD), Quick Reference Guide.

Other Resources to learn American Sign Language

Recommendation for Fun Video for Children to Learn

My Baby Can Talk - First Signs

About the Author:

Nicole Dean is the owner of ShowKidstheFun.com, a fun resource website to help parents keep the lines of communication open with their children. Nicole also enjoys helping other moms benefit from signing with their babies.