Parents wonder: Which Signs Should I Add Next? Pay Attention to What your Infant is Interested in
Monday, August 11th, 2008When my first child started signing her first three signs I got so excited. I wanted to add as many signs as I could. I think at first I was confusing her, sometimes parents try to give too much to their child at one time. If you keep it simple and pay attention to what your child is most interested in, then they are a lot more likely to sign new signs sooner.I decided to make it easier for her and choose a few new signs to add. Annie and I were outside a lot so she heard dogs barking and birds chirping. The next signs I added for her were dog and bird, and she almost instantly began using them. With my second child he just loved to eat, so his next signs were food signs. I added apple and bread. And what do you know; it was almost instant, because he really wanted to know how to communicate this to me.
It’s amazing how quickly a child can pick up on something if they are interested in it. Using baby sign language allows parents to open the doors of communication for their child, who otherwise would be limited in expressing things they enjoy at such an early age in life.
Andrea Burton Ploehn, Signing 4 Baby