Baby Sign Language: When and How to Start Signing

Baby sign language gives your child a way to communicate before they can speak. Babies develop the motor control to form simple signs months before their vocal cords and oral muscles are ready to produce words. Teaching a handful of signs starting around six to eight months old can reduce frustration, strengthen your bond, and give your baby a head start on language development.

When to Start Baby Sign Language

Most experts recommend introducing baby sign language between six and eight months of age. At this stage, babies are developing the fine motor skills to approximate simple handshapes, and they are cognitively ready to connect a gesture with a meaning. However, you can start modeling signs even earlier — from birth — because babies absorb language long before they produce it.

The typical timeline looks like this: you begin signing consistently around six months, the baby starts recognizing signs around eight to ten months, and the first independent signs appear between ten and fourteen months. Some babies sign earlier, some later. Like all developmental milestones, there is a wide range of normal.

You do not need to wait for a specific readiness signal. If your baby can wave bye-bye or point at objects, they have the motor skills for simple signs. Even before those milestones, your consistent use of signs builds a visual vocabulary that your baby will draw from when they are ready to produce signs themselves.

Starting early does not mean pressuring your baby. Keep signing sessions playful, brief, and embedded in natural daily routines like mealtimes, bath time, and reading. If you approach baby signing as a joyful interaction rather than a lesson, your baby will respond with curiosity and engagement.

The Best First Signs to Teach

The most effective starter signs refer to things your baby cares about most: food, comfort, and favorite objects. Begin with five to ten high-frequency signs and add more as your baby masters those.

MORE — Touch your fingertips together repeatedly (both hands forming flattened “O” shapes tapping together). This is the most popular first sign because it applies to so many situations: more food, more play, more reading. Learning to sign more gives your baby immediate communicative power.

ALL DONE — Wave both open hands back and forth, palms facing outward. This helps your baby signal when they are finished eating, playing, or bathing, reducing the screaming that often accompanies forced activities.

MILK — Open and close your fist as if milking a cow. This is especially useful for breastfed or bottle-fed babies who can request feeding before they reach the crying stage. Learning to sign milk can reduce a significant amount of daily frustration.

EAT — Tap your fingers to your lips. WATER/DRINK — Make a “C” shape and tip it toward your mouth. HELP — Place one fist on an open palm and lift both hands. HURT/PAIN — Point both index fingers toward each other. These functional signs cover the most common needs and help you understand what your baby wants before they can tell you with words.

How to Teach Signs Effectively

Consistency is the single most important factor. Use the sign every time the word naturally appears in your routine. Sign MILK every time you offer a bottle. Sign EAT at every meal. Sign MORE every time your baby reaches for something again. Repetition in context is how babies learn the connection between a sign and its meaning.

Sign at the baby’s eye level when possible. Get down to their height, make eye contact, then produce the sign clearly between your face and the object or activity it refers to. Babies follow your gaze, so looking at the object while signing it strengthens the association.

Always pair the sign with the spoken word. Say “more” while you sign MORE. Say “milk” while you sign MILK. This dual input reinforces both the signed and spoken versions of the word. Baby sign language is not a replacement for speech; it is a bridge that supplements spoken language development.

Celebrate approximations. Your baby’s first attempt at MORE might look like clapping or banging fists together rather than the precise fingertip touch. That is normal and should be acknowledged enthusiastically. Over time, the handshape will refine. Responding to approximate signs teaches your baby that communication works, which motivates them to keep trying.

Research-Backed Benefits

Research supports several benefits of baby sign language. A landmark study by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn found that babies who learned signs had larger spoken vocabularies at age two compared to non-signing peers. By age eight, the signing group scored an average of 12 points higher on IQ tests, though researchers note that the enriched interaction, not the signing itself, likely drives cognitive gains.

Reduced frustration is the most immediately visible benefit. Babies between 8 and 24 months often know what they want but cannot say it. Tantrums, crying, and guessing games result. Signs provide an outlet for communication that closes this gap. Parents consistently report fewer tantrums and less mealtime stress when babies can sign their needs.

Signing also strengthens the parent-child bond. The process of learning signs together creates focused interaction time. Parents who sign with their babies tend to make more eye contact, use more expressive faces, and engage in more turn-taking exchanges. These interaction patterns are associated with stronger attachment and better social-emotional development.

For families with a Deaf or hard-of-hearing child, baby sign language is not optional — it is essential for language development. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) both emphasize that early sign language exposure is a right for Deaf children, not merely a preference. Research from Gallaudet University shows that Deaf children with early sign language access develop language milestones on the same timeline as hearing children acquiring spoken language.

Common Concerns and Misconceptions

The most persistent myth is that teaching baby sign language delays speech. Multiple studies have disproven this. Signing babies typically begin speaking at the same age as or earlier than non-signing peers. Signs do not replace speech; they create a foundation of language concepts that facilitates spoken language development.

Some parents worry they are not doing the signs correctly. If you are basing your signs on actual ASL, accuracy matters to some degree, but babies are forgiving. A slightly off handshape will still communicate if used consistently. That said, learning from reliable ASL resources rather than making up gestures ensures your child learns real signs that will be understood by others. Our ASL dictionary is a good reference for accurate handshapes.

Another concern is that only the primary caregiver can teach signs. In reality, the more people who sign with the baby, the better. Grandparents, siblings, daycare providers, and other caregivers can all learn the core five to ten signs. Consistency across environments reinforces the baby’s learning and ensures they can communicate their needs with anyone who cares for them.

Finally, some parents feel they do not have time for “one more thing.” Baby sign language does not require dedicated training sessions. You simply add signs to interactions that are already happening. Signing MILK while offering a bottle adds one second to a routine you do multiple times a day. The time investment is minimal, and the payoff in reduced frustration and enhanced connection is substantial.

Transitioning from Signs to Speech

As babies develop spoken language, they naturally begin to drop signs in favor of words. This typically happens between 18 and 24 months, though the timeline varies. A baby might sign and say “more” simultaneously for a while, then gradually drop the sign as the spoken word becomes reliable.

You do not need to actively discourage signing. The transition happens organically because speech is faster and easier once the vocal apparatus is ready. Continue signing as long as your child finds it useful, especially for concepts they cannot yet pronounce clearly. Signs for complex words like frustrated or scared may persist longer because these are harder to articulate verbally.

Some children continue to enjoy signing even after they are fully verbal. This is a positive outcome, not a concern. Bilingualism (in any combination of languages, including sign languages) is associated with cognitive flexibility, stronger executive function, and greater cultural awareness. A child who retains some ASL has a skill that will serve them throughout life.

For children who are Deaf or hard of hearing, the transition is different. Sign language may remain the primary language, with spoken language developing alongside or not at all, depending on the child’s hearing level and family’s language decisions. In these cases, continuing to expand the child’s sign language vocabulary is the priority, and early sign language development predicts stronger academic outcomes later in school.

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