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!