How we taught our baby sign language + the 15+ signs we use DAILY! 🍼

Wondering how to teach your baby sign language? Here is how we taught our son, Milo, to communicate with us! He was just about 13 months old at the time of this recording, and throughout the past few months, I've found that teaching a baby sign language is a really great way to save your child (and yourself!) some frustration, boost their confidence, and increase your parent-child bond.

This video explores why you should teach your baby sign language, and also shares about 15 regular signs that we use every day. If you’ve been thinking about teaching your baby sign language, I will share a ton of reasons why you should go for it.

CHAPTERS:
00:00-00:56 – introduction
00:57-01:47 – Milo’s current vocabulary
01:48-02:21 – the benefits of baby sign language
02:22-03:14 – how we introduced sign language
03:15-04:01 – day-to-day usage
04:02-04:53 – baby signs for milk and water
04:54-5:43 – why signs are useful
05:44-6:28 – other signs we’re using
06:29-7:20 – some signs we’re not using
07:21-8:46 – more signs
08:47-9:26 – why this is rewarding
09:27-9:39 – signs we’re introducing
09:40-10:36 – closing thoughts

So, why should you teach your baby sign language? The overall point is to help your baby communicate their needs to you. Babies can get frustrated when they want something and do not have the words to express it (there are a lot of "UHHH" and "EHHH"s thrown around), so signs can help you better understand one another.

Up front, I want to make two things clear regarding how I taught my baby sign language:

(1) We started teaching Milo sign language when he was an infant, but if you have not yet implemented sign language with your children, it's something that you can start ANY TIME. Children are very adaptable!

(2) You do not need to master ASL (American Sign Language) to make this work for your family. I don't speak ASL, but I was able to quickly learn the signs that we use with Milo from a few different baby books. You can also Google basic baby sign language signs to get started, but honestly, at the end of the day, as long as you and your child are on the same page with the signs you're giving, it doesn't really matter if you're doing the signs properly. The point is to make sure you can communicate effectively with your baby.

This video is full of baby sign language basics and baby sign language words. Throughout the video, I go over how we introduced baby sign language to Milo, the signs we are currently using every day, the signs we don't use, and how it’s been working for our family. I share a lot of specific scenarios where baby sign language has been helpful, as well as the overall benefits of sign language communication for babies.

If you’re looking for baby hunger signs and example clips of a baby gesturing “milk” in sign language, this video has plenty. SO CUTE.

To sum up my advice after reviewing how I taught my baby sign language, I would say:

1. Start by teaching a small number of signs.
2. Use the signing action whenever you say the word you're teaching your baby.
3. When your child is ready, they will start making gestures that look like what you've shown them and use them when they’re trying to communicate with you.
3. Once you think your baby has mastered a sign, start adding in new ones.
4. Keep practicing the signs every day.

There are so many benefits of sign language, and it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to understand what your child is trying to communicate to you. It opens up a whole world of connection that you can have with your babies because sign language allows you to really understand their needs, and it makes the household run smoother because you can communicate with them so much more easily.

Let me know if this video is helpful and if there are any other signs that you have used with babies that you feel like really change things for the better.

SNAPCHAT: LucieFink

Thank you so much for watching! I hope you subscribe to my channel for more videos.

[bridgetmolnar]

Thank you for posting this!! As a pediatric speech language pathologist, I very much recommend the use of sign to help children communicate ☺️

[quintanaallen]

I subscribed at “did he file his taxes”? I started ASL with my 5 month old when he was born and now my 8 and 9 year old talks to me with sign. It’s so rewarding.

[courtneycontos]

My son just turned 20, we used these Signing Times videos back then. He picked it up so fast and to this day will sign to me as a “remember when?!” Back in the day older parents swore to us that we would delay his speech by signing; complete bs! Loved being able to communicate with him, it alleviated so much frustration! Glad to see it still being used!

[justmeherexx]

This was so fascinating. It never occurred to me that a baby could learn sign language. Teaching Milo must be so rewarding for you and Michael. Wonderful video this week. ❤❤

[anikaxmeisel]

I hope he keeps learning ASL! It’s great being able to communicate with the deaf community even if it’s only a few words

[leannverhoff]

We always teach thank you early on too—it’s always nice to feel thanked for the things you do for your kid haha

[mdkiswani]

super cool and informative. My baby girl is 21 days old and I’m excited to teach her sign language in order to communicate with her sooner

[vbscmyj]

This video came at the perfect time! My nephew is learning ASL in daycare, but I don’t always understand what’s he’s trying to communicate because I don’t speak it. Now I can practice!

[lizalove]

My baby is six months and since starting solids I’ve been saying and trying to sign “more” and “all done” and enunciating it very clearly. This is so helpful!

[propergunjah]

Can you imagine? There was a video about the baby that showed to its mom that it was sleeping on its hands. It was an answer to her question. I commented that babies understand a way more than some of us might think. And I got so many answers attacking me and demanding proof. Lol! There we go, I'm here to take a link and prove it. I think you did an awesome job teaching your baby.

[jj-ifit]

Milo is so cute, love his big blue eyes. I'm not planning on having kids but I find this sort of thing fascinating

[willcookmakeup]

I wish I had learned as a kid. My nieces and nephews and younger cousins were taught. It definitely wasnt as emphasiezed or had the same awareness 30 years ago when I was a baby

[holisticmaya]

It’s so cute when you say Milo I hear My love ❤ so sweet haha

[fahtkp]

I love this video, very helpful for me to teach my son 8 months now ❤ Thank you❤

[Slurpfurp]

This is fascinating and so so cute Lucie. Kudos to you and your family for sustaining the effort and commitment required for this kind of communication ❤

[victoriaguidici]

I have just finished watching the video about teaching pets to use buttons to communicate!

[ananajera]

Sing language can also work in order to bridge the gap between two languages. Example the word tree in English sounds different than árbol on Spanish but by signing the word the child now has the visual representation of what are the same words but in a different language.

[ashleynorwood]

Baby’s are so interesting and this is just a good way to parent

[secretlifeofmary]

Milo looks like your twin right now, so cute

[haleistarr]

This is awesome ! My babygirl is 5months old and im trying to teach her milk, eat, and mama. Lol this was educational!! I cant wait for my baby to talk to me more as she grows ❤