An example is how he uses “Ga” for multiple things.  He says “ga” for water, “ga, ga” for dog, and “gaa” for book (I have no idea why!)  I’d picked up on water and dog, because he was already using those signs, thank goodness.  Then one day he was trying to tell me he wanted something and I had no idea what he was talking about.  We wandered around the house trying to figure out what he needed.  Finally he saw the book he wanted..”gaa, gaa, gaa”.  What in the world!  I never would have guessed.  Right then I signed book to him, then I took his hands and had him sign book.  We did it a few times until I could tell he understood.  Later that night when I was putting him to bed he said “ga”.  I asked if he wanted some water, then he said no and started signing “book”.  I grabbed a book and he started jumping up and down yelling, “yeah”!  That was ten times easier than wandering around the house. 

This is just another simple example of why I LOVE using baby sign language and how in many instances signing can help to advance and clarify verbal language skills.

Andrea Ploehn, signing4baby.com

So if you’ve noticed your little one has gotten a sign mixed up make sure to differentiate between your signs and then correct your little one by showing them the correct sign.  If they still aren’t getting it, try to be more consistent and even take there hands and physically show them the sign you want them to do.  When I’m teaching my son signs for the first time for a few days I while take his hands and help him mimic the sign correctly, it helps them to feel what they are visually seeing.

Good luck and have fun!

Andrea Ploehn

Andrea Ploehn

Each lesson contains new signs to work on,  research about baby sign language, skill development tips, personal stories on how the signs worked for me, video clips of babies in the stages of signing, how to implement the new signs, and much more!

I haven’t seen anything else like this anywhere.  This is the ultimate parents guide!  I feel it’s so important for the parents to learn how to use sign language so that they are the primary influence on the babies learning experience.  If the parent isn’t giving their child added attention and interaction, then many of the benefits that are connected with baby signing don’t tend to happen.  The key is the added involvement and connection that the parent has with the child.

I know you guys are going to love this, I’ll let you know when we have everything together!

Andrea Ploehn, www.signing4baby.com

Just this last week when he’d crawl over to me I’d say “up” and he would raise one of his arms up, attempting to mimic my signing.  Of course he didn’t do the sign perfectly, but I knew what he was trying to say.  When your child begins signing, 9 out of 10 times they wont do it perfectly.  Many parents don’t even pick up on the fact that their child is attempting to signs.  You really have to watch for it.

My cousin for instance said she’d been signing to her son for a few months, but he didn’t seem interested.  I was spending the day with her so I tried to watch for any signs he might be trying and sure enough, he was definitely signing “more”.  He would sort of clap his hands together, so she didn’t really recognize that he was using this as his way of saying more.  We experimented with him a little and again and again, he used the same clapping motion to sign more.

It’s important that once you realize your baby is attempting to sign, you praise them and acknowledge their communication.  Also remember that each time they attempt a sign, it;s helpful to take their hands and put them in the correct positions so they can feel how to do the sign correctly.  It wont take long before they are little communicating machines!

When you start to notice your baby reaching some of these developmental stages, it’s a good time for you to engage your infant in learning new things.  They are extremely curious and their minds are like little sponges, ready to absorb the world around them.  This is an ideal time to really start using sign language consistently.  Some of you may have already been using signs here and there with your baby already.  If you haven’t started yet, don’t wait any longer.  Your baby is just itching to learn new things and he trusts you to give him the information he needs to continue to develop.

Many parents have told me that after their child reaches this stage in development they can tell that he picks up on the meaning of the signs they are using very quickly.  I personally agree, I noticed my children have become intensely aware of the signs I use right around this point.  Up until now they had been in the first stage, Entertainment. It was very clear to me that they were moving on to the second developmental stage of baby sign language, Comprehending. After the child reaches this stage you can be sure it wont be long until they progress very quickly through the remaining stages and will be signing back to you very soon.

I’ve decided to post the developmental stages for you again so that you can easily track your child’s progression.

Developmental Stages of Baby Sign Language: helpful answers to questions

I know that sometimes it can be confusing when you first start to use sign language with your baby.  It’s hard to know if you’re doing it right, or if the baby is responding how they should.  One thing that I found was helpful was to look for the different stages of signing.  We like to call it the baby sign experience.

The stages to look for are:

1.  Entertainment- at first your baby will just watch you, he thinks it’s fun to see your hands moving, and your facial expressions.

2.  Comprehending- your baby will begin to understand your signs, even though he wont be able to imitate the sign himself.

3.  Sign Success- your baby will be able to produce a sign on his own.

4.  Sign Trials- your baby will experiment with signs, using them in different contexts.

5.  Signing Feast and Fun- your baby has gotten to the point that he fully understands that using signs represents other objects, emotions, actions, etc… He will then look to you for more signs so that he can continue to more fully express himself.

These are the basic 5 stages of baby sign language.  If you want more details and specific examples of the stages you can visit the signing 4 baby home page at www.signing4baby.com

Remember to be consistent… and I promise the results will be amazing!

Andrea Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby Founder

Happy, Sad, Scared, Bored, Surprise, Tired, Mad