Sign Language Overview

Babies are ready to communicate with us before they can speak.  It can be very frustrating for our little ones when they want to tell us something and we do not understand them.  There has been a lot of research lately that shows babies can learn sign language!  By learning signs babies can communicate at an earlier age.  They are also much happier because their needs are being met more often.   I only wish I had known about this with my first three children!

My first introduction to teaching babies sign language was through a wonderful book called Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn.   Please visit the Baby Signs web site for more information.

I have since looked for more information on the internet and found the following wonderful sites:

Sign Language for Babies and Beyond (Excellent resource!  Sign up for their newsletter.)

Signing With Your Baby

Sign With Me

Sign 2 Me

KinderSigns

SigningBabies.net

Signing Time!

You can begin signing with your baby right from birth, but  your baby might not take notice of the signs till he or she is older.  In my research I learned that 7mths is a good age to start.  Therefore, I have given suggestions for signs from Lessons 9 - 20.  You could start earlier and you will want to personalize the sign choices to your family situation.  My suggestions are the signs I used with my daughter.  She began signing a few signs back to me before her 1st birthday!  Visit the Sign With Me Online Dictionary for examples to form the signs. 

For another list of signs to start with follow this link:  Signs to Start With by Monica Beyer