• Choose just a few to get started. “Eat” “Milk” “Mom” & “Dad” are great starter signs. And just think, if you start with a few, you only need to remember a few. That’s good for our tired frazzled minds isn’t it!!
• Repeat, repeat, repeat! Repeat both the sign and the word several times when you use it.
• Use the sign and the word together.This helps with babe’s general understanding and helps with the development of language skills.
• Sign everyday. Reserve a time in your day to practice signs for fun, but also use them in everyday language and communication. (Yes soon you will be signing at the mail man and your kids teachers… it’s okay, they will understand!)
• Help your baby move her hands to form signs. Gently guiding babe can help him learn the sign. Be gentle and give lots of praise
• If you can, point at the object when signing. This helps with comprehension.
• Be Creative. If your baby has his own interpretation of a sign but it works for him, go with it. “All finished” for us was not the official sign, but we both knew what it meant so it worked!
• Patience. It can take a while to learn to sign. Most babies are ready to sign once they can clap and wave bye bye. The ages on this vary, so be patient and don’t expect to much.

Take a look at our baby sign section here. We add to this category regularly so be sure to check back for new signs to learn with your babe!