2 Years & Up

Now that your child is 2 years old you may be wondering whether signing will still be an important role in your toddlers daily development. You have come a long way since you began signing with your child and now that he/she may be entering preschool and soon the kindergarten years you might be surprised how signing can be of use to you.

Your child is now learning and understanding his/her capabilities of independence, improved language skills and social interaction and signing will help develop all of these areas by giving a way to communicate when frustrated or can't yet say the words.

Potty Training - something that you will be facing soon if you haven't already. Using signs is a discrete way to overcome any embarrassment that your child may have if he/she needs to go or has missed the opportunity. Signs such as potty, change, wet or dirty can help signal/alert you that it is time for action.

Has signing with your toddler helped you in anyway when potty training or have you experienced any funny or eye opening experiences that you would like to share?

Baby Signing Myths

Those that say babies can't learn to sign are people who have never seen it for themselves.

These skeptics may think that it is just baby using gestures or that the parent is seeing something that is not really there and making it up as they go along. Unfortunately, these skeptics are not going to be convinced until they see it for themselves. I have met many non believers and only once they actually see the baby signing and communicating with their parent/caregiver do they really understand that there is a real following of non-verbal babies and toddlers able to communicate their wants and needs.

Also, sign language does not replace spoken word for hearing babies and they are not slower to talk as some may think. In fact, babies who learn sign language are often quicker to talk than other children who have not learned to use sign language. The reason for this is because of the verbal use of each word as the baby is learning each sign. They are learning a new spoken word and its sign at the same time.

Are you a believer in baby sign language and have you tried it for yourself and used signing with your child?

Signing Games

Sign Book

You can very easily create a sign book for your baby. This is a great way to have fun and teach your baby sign language. Put photos of your family inside and teach the signs for mother, father, baby, sister, brother. Photos of dogs and cats are also a good idea. Think of the signs you wish to teach your child and spend time together searching for pictures of these objects in old magazines, postcards or calendars. Cut them out and glue these into your baby's sign book as well.

What is in the Bag

Put different objects inside of a bag or a box such as; balls, flowers, stuffed animal, etc. Encourage your baby to pull out these items. Sign the appropriate sign and say the word with lots of excitement and enthusiasm!

Do you have any games that you have either created or been using to help develop baby sign language with your child, we would love it if you would share them with us?