Baby Sign Language

Gretchen will be learning sign language starting this week. Nowadays it is common for parents and other caregivers to teach their children sign language at a young age. It is a great way to teach a child how to communicate without crying for their wants or needs. The best time to teach a baby sign language is anywhere from 6-8 months (and onward until 16 months). 


Babies can sign their feelings instead of becoming discouraged when we cannot decipher whether or not they are crying out of hunger or because they're tired. I wanted to post the signs that we will be learning here so that others that watch or interact with Gretchen can practice and learn the signs, too. 


We'll start with five signs and go on from there. Here are the five signs that we will be learning first:

Eat: Whenever she eats solids we'll practice this sign. They say that you should practice the sign while you prepare her food, while she's eating, and after she's done (three times).

Milk: We'll use this sign whenever we give her a bottle (before, during, and after).

Dad: We'll use this sign whenever Dad is in the room (as he approaches us, while he's with us, and after he leaves).

Mom: We'll use this sign while she's around me (as I approach, when I'm with her, and when I leave). 

Dog: The program suggested that we teach her a sign of something that makes her face light up, so we chose "dog." She loves to see the dog, so we know this will be a fun sign. When the dog is coming near us, with us, or as he leaves, we'll sign "dog."

Five is a great number of signs to start with, but as we go, we'll teach her more and more signs. They say that sign language for babies can help them increase their vocabulary and speak at an older child's level much earlier (they know how to communicate their feelings, needs and wants). 


Other words we'll learn eventually:

• Sleepy
• Drink
• Happy
• Sad
• Mad
• Sick
• Grandmother (Grammy and Mimi)
• Grandfather (Both Grampas)
• Colors (different colors)
• Animals (other animals)
• and more

They say that it can take about 2 months for a baby from 6-8 months old to learn the signs. First, Gretchen will mimic what we do (naturally), then, she'll start signing the signs when she sees whatever the sign may be (i.e., she sees Jack (our dog) walk by...she'll sign dog). That's when we'll know that she's made the connection. Then, the third thing is she'll start using the signs to communicate her needs or wants to me or just to share what she's thinking. It's going to be awesome and it really works!