Whether your child is hearing impaired, has speech delays, or is simply too young to speak yet, you might find yourself struggling with ways to communicate with your little one. That's when the many signs to teach your baby come into play. And you don't have to be an expert in sign language to successfully master these basic, but beneficial, signs. Though you may think your baby is too young to grasp the concept of linguistics, it turns out infants as young as six months can learn simple signs, according to the experts at the Baby Center.
Since I had taken a couple of years of American Sign Language (ASL) in college, I was fairly eager to start the process with my son. At first I was a bit discouraged because it seemed like he just thought I was making silly hand gestures. But, as his pediatrician reassured me, babies can understand long before they are able to demonstrate or recreate those concepts and actions. So, even if your little one is staring at you blankly, trust me when I say that they can comprehend more than they let on. Since it's never too early to start, go ahead and check out these signs you can teach your baby to make life easier.
1Help
Whether your little one is stuck, can't reach something, or just needs assistance, the sign from Handspeak will do the trick.
2More
This is a super useful sign, especially for when they've graduated to solid foods.
3Please
As The Linguistics Girl demonstrates, it's never too early to teach good manners, right?
5Yes
The moment you and your baby are able to get this sign down, it's a game-changer.
6No
Most parents hope their kid doesn't learn this word until later, but it's still helpful to know.
7Milk
Whether you use formula or breastfeed, this is the universal sign for milk.
8Bath
If your child is anything like my son, he absolutely hated being in wet or soiled clothes for even a nanosecond. So this sign was used quite frequently at our house.
9Done
My son also used this one all the time. Whether it was to signal he ate all his food or had finished an activity, this was an easy way for him to let me know he was all done.
10Mother
Just like with speaking, there's no telling whose name your baby will pick up on first.
11Father
Your partner will probably try and secretly get them to learn this one first.
12Brother
Unlike "mother" and "father," signs for siblings are a bit more complex.
13Sister
Not as simple as most signs, but you'd be surprised how quickly babies can pick things up.
14Grandfather
This is fairly easy since it's a modification of the sign for "father."
15Grandmother
The sign for "grandmother" is a play on the sign for "mother," too.
16Friend
I've found that little ones love nothing more than pointing out their fellow baby buddies.
19Sleep
This can be used in a variety of ways, but this sign indicates sleep or sleepiness.
20Happy
Expressing feelings is a great way to help their emotional development.
21Sad
Of course you don't want your child to feel sad, but it helps when they can communicate it to you.
22Scared
This way you can know for sure if they're just playing around or legitimately uncomfortable.
23Mad
Chances are, if you can get them to talk about feeling mad, then they won't act on it instead.
25Book
Even if they can't read, babies love looking at colorful pictures in books.
28School
This sign from My Smart Hands can also be used for daycare or pre-K.
29Travel/Go
This can help them understand the concept of going from one point to another.
