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Two Fundamentals to Succeed in Teaching Your Child Sign Language

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 fundamentals 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 signing with your baby. 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

A threshold question that parents have when they decide to teach their child to sign is at what age to begin introducing signs. As with most questions like this, there is no hard and fast 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 differentiate between signs in any meaningful way prior to 6 months of age. More likely, a child will begin distinguishing 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 secondary, more abstract signs. As your child gets older, and begins speaking her 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 child’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 give and take between you and your baby. When a baby starts sitting up and showing interest in what is going on around him, they are likely ready to begin learning signs. In particular, if your child is observing 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.

Many children don’t make their first sign until 10 months of age or later, and some not before 12 months. Please do not get frustrated 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 begin learning signs at a rapid pace. You will likely have a hard time keeping up! And then the pace may slow again. Signign with your baby will be filled with stops and starts and fast and slow periods. But if you keep at 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 choose which words to start with. It is critical that you choose only a few basic words to begin teaching your baby. Otherwise, you may 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 begin 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”. Always notice your baby’s facial expressions when you are teaching him a sign. Your child’s expression may tell you when he begins to recognize the sign. For example, his eyes may light up with a smile when you sign the word “milk”. After he recognizes a sign, your child will likely begin “expressing” that sign soon thereafter.

Finally, remember to always introduce and reinforce new signs at the appropriate 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 chld 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.

Good luck and best wishes in teaching your baby to sign. Stay tuned for our next post for more fundamentals to succeed in your signing endeavors. For now, click the following link for our website and more information on baby sign language.