baby sign language

You probably already know and use simple hand signs when interacting with your little explorer. You wave goodbye, point to an object, or place your finger on your lips to signal "quiet." baby sign language allow you to visually represent concepts playfully and thereby promote your baby's language acquisition. Through simple gestures, you can communicate quickly and effortlessly with each other, even before your child is able to speak.

What are baby signs?

Baby Sign Language, also called Baby Signs, is the support of spoken language with gestures or signs. You can teach the signs by showing them to your baby in everyday situations (for example, during eating, playing, or reading aloud) alongside the spoken word.

The term "Baby Signing" originates from the English-speaking world and is known as "Baby Signs" in the USA, the UK, and other Western countries. Only in recent years has this approach also arrived in Germany. The early childhood education concept is intended for all parents, educators, or caregivers of hearing babies at all stages of development.

The goal is to enable early communication between parents and their children and to make everyday life easier. Especially in the first years of life, before your baby can speak properly, baby sign language helps your baby express themselves in a very concrete way and communicate their needs early on.

Example: Is it time for a nap, or do you notice that your baby is getting tired? Then ask your child “wanna SLEEP now?” and simultaneously show the sign for sleep – place your flat hand on your cheek, tilt your head slightly to the side, and close your eyes.

When can I start with baby sign language?

There is no fixed rule that dictates when you can or should start with baby sign language. However, those who aim for holistic communication can begin integrating signs into everyday life as early as infancy, because at this stage, babies are already capable of understanding the meaning of signs. Between the seventh and tenth month, your baby's motor skills are developed enough that they can also perform baby signs themselves. But even if your toddler has already spoken their first words, you can still start using baby sign language at around 1.5 years old, since speech development is not typically completed until at least age 4.

Learning language and sign language occurs simultaneously. Since baby signs are used in combination with spoken words, any concern that your little explorer might not learn the spoken language because they can also express themselves differently is unfounded.

Baby Sign Language as early learning support and fun factor

Gestures help babies to significantly expand their communicative possibilities. This allows your baby to express their needs, wishes, and feelings earlier and more in detail, making them often feel better understood. It can independently explain their own world and share their thoughts with you; by targeted messages, it shows what it wants to have or do. Additionally, baby gestures promote language acquisition and provide a lifelong foundation for acceptance and inclusion.

And last but not least, learning sign language can simply be fun for you and your little explorer! Learning fun and repetitions are the easiest and safest techniques to teach your baby something. A relaxed environment to feel comfortable, away from fear and stress, increases your baby's learning success. When we have fun, we learn more easily – this applies to both sides. Additionally, this builds a familiar bond. The fact that you can work together on something, achieve something together, and have fun together is also a form of relationship work.