17 August 2026 · Little Rei
Teaching My Child Sign Language
Baby sign is sold on a strong promise — fewer tantrums, earlier communication, sometimes a hint about intelligence — and the evidence for the strong version is thin. The evidence for the modest version is decent, and the modest version is still worth having: a pre-verbal child gets a handful of usable signals months before they can say the words, and both of you spend less time guessing.
Does baby sign language actually work?
It works in the narrow sense. Babies can reliably produce simple gestures well before they can produce the equivalent words, because the motor control required for hand movement matures earlier than the fine control required for speech. So a ten-month-old can sign 'milk' and cannot say it. That gap is real and it is the whole basis of the practice.
What the research does not support is the claim that signing accelerates language development or raises later cognitive scores. Controlled studies have generally failed to find a lasting advantage over simply talking to your baby a great deal. What signing does reliably do is increase the amount of responsive back-and-forth interaction — and that interaction, not the signs, is the ingredient that matters. It also does not delay speech, which is the most common worry and is not borne out.
Which sign language should you use?
Whichever is used where you live. Sign languages are real, distinct languages, not a universal code: American Sign Language, British Sign Language, Auslan, Singapore Sign Language, Langue des Signes Française and dozens of others differ in vocabulary and grammar, and ASL and BSL are not mutually intelligible. Most commercial baby-sign material is ASL-based regardless of where it is sold, which is worth knowing before you learn a vocabulary your local Deaf community does not use.
For a hearing family using perhaps twenty signs for practical purposes, the choice matters less than consistency. If you have any connection to a Deaf community, if your child may go on to learn a sign language properly, or if a family member is deaf or hard of hearing, learn the one used in your country and learn it from Deaf teachers and native signers rather than from a baby-product brand.
When should you start, and when will they sign back?
Start around six to eight months, when a baby is sitting, watching hands, and beginning to attend jointly to objects. Starting earlier does no harm and produces nothing; the parent simply practises for longer. Expect the first sign back somewhere between eight and twelve months, and expect it to be approximate — babies produce a rough version, the way early speech is a rough version. Accept the approximation and respond to it.
- Start with five or six signs, not twenty. A small set used constantly is learned; a large set used occasionally is not.
- Sign only in the moment the thing is happening — the sign for milk as the milk appears, not while discussing it.
- Always say the word while signing it. Signing silently is what would slow speech down; signing with speech is what makes it work.
- Get their attention first. A sign made while a baby is looking elsewhere is not input.
- Repeat far past the point of feeling ridiculous. Most families who conclude it does not work stopped at around two weeks.
Which signs are worth starting with?
The ones that reduce distress. Signs for things a baby is already trying to communicate about earn their place; signs for animals and colours are charming and get dropped within a month.
- Milk — usually the first to appear, because the motivation is obvious and it comes up many times a day.
- More — enormously useful at mealtimes and the one most families report as the turning point.
- All done / finished — ends the high-chair standoff earlier than words can.
- Eat — pairs naturally with 'more' and 'all done' to cover most of a meal.
- Help — the single highest-value sign for reducing frustration in the second year.
- Sleep, pain or hurt, and water — practical, and 'hurt' in particular gives a pre-verbal child a way to locate a problem.
What does a realistic first month look like?
Almost entirely one-sided, which is the part that catches families out. Setting the expectation correctly is the difference between a practice that works and one abandoned in week three.
- Weeks one and two — you sign, nothing comes back, and you feel silly. This is the expected state. Aim for consistency rather than a response.
- Weeks three and four — the baby starts watching your hands rather than only your face. That attention is the first real sign of progress, and it is easy to miss.
- Weeks five to eight — approximate attempts appear, often a general hand movement rather than the sign itself. Respond to every attempt immediately as though it were perfect.
- After the first clear sign — the rest come faster. Most families report the second and third signs arriving within days of the first, because the baby has grasped the concept rather than just the gesture.
Two habits sustain it through the flat first month: attach each sign to an existing daily routine so you are not relying on memory, and get every regular caregiver signing the same small set. A baby who sees 'more' twenty times a day from three people learns it considerably faster than one who sees it four times from one.
What usually goes wrong?
Three things, in order of frequency. The family teaches too many signs at once and none of them stick. The family stops before the response window opens, because a baby who has been signed to for six weeks and has not signed back looks like a failure and is in fact perfectly normal. And only one adult signs, so the baby encounters the sign a handful of times a day rather than constantly.
One more thing worth saying: baby sign is not a screening tool. If you are worried about your child's communication — no babbling by around twelve months, no words by around eighteen, loss of skills that were previously there, or no response to their name — that is a conversation for your doctor or health visitor, and signing is not a substitute for it. Used for what it is, though, it is a cheap and pleasant way to give a child who cannot yet talk something to say.
Questions parents ask
When should I start teaching my baby sign language?
Around six to eight months, once a baby is sitting and attending to objects with you. Starting earlier is harmless but produces nothing, since babies typically sign back somewhere between eight and twelve months.
Does baby sign language delay speech?
No. Signing while speaking does not delay talking, and the concern is not supported by the evidence. Always say the word as you make the sign — speech and sign together is how it is meant to be used.
How many signs should I teach at once?
Five or six to begin with, chosen for how often they come up: milk, more, all done, eat, help. A small set used many times a day is learned far faster than a large set used occasionally.
Is sign language the same everywhere?
No. American Sign Language, British Sign Language, Auslan and others are distinct languages and are not mutually intelligible. Most commercial baby-sign material uses ASL regardless of where it is sold, so learn the language used in your own country if that matters to you.
Does baby sign make children smarter?
There is no good evidence for lasting cognitive advantages. What signing reliably does is give a pre-verbal child a way to communicate and increase responsive back-and-forth interaction, which is valuable on its own terms.