Baby Sign Language: A Fun and Simple Guide to Early Communication

by Mary Smith

Overview

Start signing with your baby today! This comprehensive book makes signing easy with photos of real kids using 100+ signs, plus expert advice on teaching your baby to communicate early.

In Baby Sign Language, Mary Smith—ASL interpreter and founder of popular sign language education business Sign ’n Grow—shares everything you need for learning how to sign with your 0–3-year-old.

Maybe you’ve seen it online or remember a friend and their baby signing MILK or MORE. No matter why you’re interested, what you’ve heard is true: signing is one of the best ways to kickstart communication. When your baby can sign, they'll get frustrated less—and you will be able to bond more closely.

At the heart of the book are a broad array of photographed signs that are easy to understand thanks to the real kids signing them. You’ll find everything your baby wants to tell you, including:

• Mealtime Signs: Milk, Food, More, All Done, Drink, Water, Please, Thank You, Yes, No, Hungry, Thirsty
• Daytime Signs: Help, Open, Up, Pacifier, Light, Bath, Diaper, Blanket, Bed, Sleep, Morning, Night, Potty, Poop, and A Variety of Clothing Signs
• Playtime Signs: Again, Read, Book, Play, Toy, Dance, Music, Ball, Try, Friend, Take Turns, Gentle, Dog, Cat
• Family Signs: Love, Mommy, Daddy, Baby, Sister, Brother, Grandma, Grandpa,
• How Baby Feels Signs: Feel, Happy, Silly, Sad, Angry, Scared, Frustrated, Sleepy, Hurt
• Outdoors Signs: House, Walk, Outside, Playground, Grass, Tree, Car, Airplane, Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain, Snow
• …And many more!

With songs, stories, and games to encourage learning, and insider tips to boost your baby's language development, this is truly an all-in-one guide for helping your baby tell you their wants and needs before they start to talk. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760375747
Publisher:	Fair Winds Press
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,072,521
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Mary Smith is the founder and instructor of Sign ’n Grow®. She graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a degree in Deaf Studies and a concentration in Deaf Education in 2010 and completed the Interpreter Training Program in 2011. She has been an American Sign Language interpreter ever since. Mary launched Sign ’n Grow in 2020 after using Sign Language with her own daughter to great success. Her online program, Baby Signs for Growing Minds®, has now taught thousands of parents all over the world how to communicate early with their babies. Mary’s passion is to bring families closer together by teaching Sign Language to young children. To see more, visit her at signngrow.com and on social media @signngrow.

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

1 Getting Started

What is Baby Sign Language? 12

Why Sign? 12

When to Start 14

Before You Begin 17

Signing with Your Child 19

The Importance of Gestures 21

Respecting the Deaf Community 22

Which Signs to Start With 23

Top Ten Starter Signs 24

2 Mealtime Signs and Strategies

Milk 30

Food and Eat 32

More 34

All Done 36

More and All Done: Avoiding a Common Confusion 37

Drink 38

Water 38

Dirty 39

Clean 39

Teaching Signs for Manners 40

Please 41

Thank You 42

Sign 'n Sing: Please and Thank You 43

Yes 44

No 44

Hungry 45

Thirsty 45

Want 46

Like 47

Don't Like 47

3 Daytime Signs and Strategies

Help 50

Open 52

Up 53

Pacifier 54

Brush Teeth 54

Light 55

Bath 56

Sign 'n Sing: This is the Way We… 56

Potty/Pee 57

Poop 57

Change 58

Diaper 59

Sleep/Nap 60

Good 61

Morning 62

Sign 'n Sing: Good Morning, Baby 62

Night 63

Blanket 64

Bed 64

Clothes 65

Make it Fun! Get Silly with Clothing 65

Jacket 66

Shirt 66

Underwear 67

Pants 67

Socks 68

Shoes 68

Teaching Clothing Signs 69

4 Playtime Signs and Strategies

Again 72

Make it Fun! Blow Some Bubbles 72

What 73

Read 74

Book 75

Play 76

Toy 76

Dance 77

Music 77

Take Turns 78

Ball 79

Try 80

Friend 81

Gentle 82

Nice 83

Dog 84

Sign 'n Sing: I'm a Little Dog 84

Cat 85

Fish 86

Turtle 87

5 Family Signs and Strategies

Ily (I love you) 90

Love/Hug 91

I/Me 92

You 92

Family 93

Baby 93

Teaching Family Signs 94

Mommy 95

Daddy 95

Make it Fun! Peekaboo, Who? 95

Gender in American Sign Language 96

Sister 96

Brother 97

Grandma 98

Grandpa 98

Name Signs 99

6 How Baby Feels Signs and Strategies

How 102

Feel 103

Teaching Emotions 104

Happy 105

Silly 106

Sad 107

Mad/Angry 108

Scared 109

Frustrated 110

Sign 'n Sing: If You're Happy and You Know It 111

Sleepy 112

Tired 113

Hurt 114

Teaching the Sign HURT 115

7 Outdoor Signs and Strategies

House 118

Home 119

Walk 120

Outside 121

Playground 122

Make it Fun! Do You See…? 123

Slide 124

Swing 125

Grass 126

Tree 126

Leaf 127

Bird 127

Airplane 128

Sign 'n Sing: Airplane, Airplane 128

Car 129

Sun 130

Moon 130

Star 131

Cloud 131

Rain 132

Snow 132

Sign 'n Sing: The Rain is on the Grass 132

Hot 133

Cold 133

8 Strategies

Five Starter Steps 137

Do's and Don'ts 139

Four Ways to Model Signs 142

Ten Ideas for Teaching Signs 145

Finding Support from Others 148

9 How Your Baby Signs to You

Language Development with Signing 152

Step 1 Comprehension Comes First 153

Step 2 Babbling 154

When Your Baby Uses One Sign for Everything 155

Step 3 When Signs Count as Words 157

Did Your Baby Stop Using a Sign? 157

Recognizing Your Baby's Signs 158

10 What Comes Next

The Best Fit for You 162

Seeking Speech Therapy 164

Last Reminders 166

FAQ 167

Resources 168

About the Author 170

Acknowledgments 171

Index 172

Editorial Reviews

"As speech pathologists, we teach parents how important it is to help their child communicate their wants and needs. Baby sign language is one of the most effective ways to get a baby or toddler communicating early on. This book teaches parents and caregivers everything you need to know to get your child'started on their communication journey. The information within this book is a must for all families!"—Brooke and Bridget, Speech and Language Pathologists, Founders & Owners of Speech Sisters

"As a child psychologist and mother to three, I have tried to find a book that can help parents, caregivers, and teachers to teach sign language to young children and in the past was unable to find such a book. I was so excited to finally find a book that teaches these important skills. I know from both my reading of the research and my clinical experience that sign language can help to increase infants' and toddlers' communicative options and thus reduce frustration and build the parent-child bond. This book does an incredible job of breaking down each sign into easy-to-learn steps, explaining variations in the signs that you might see your child produce, and providing other tips to help parents and caregivers in this process. I will definitely be recommending this book to the families that I work with."—Dr. Cara Goodwin, PhD, Founder of Parenting Translator

"Finally the perfect book to learn everything you need to know about baby sign language! The visuals and descriptions are absolutely incredible. Expert Mary Smith somehow predicts what questions you would ask and answers them all. Trust me, this resource will make parenthood so much easier!"—Allison Jandu, Founder & Owner of Potty Training Consultant

"Baby Sign Language by Mary Smith is a wonderful resource for parents. As a psychologist, I know for many parents, it can be so challenging when they are unsure of what their child is needing or wanting. By incorporating some sign language into their communication strategies, it can help decrease the frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty by improving ways to communicate in early development. This easy-to-follow book provides practical strategies for parents to learn ASL and new communication tools with their littles. I look forward to teaching and learning with my own daughter." —Chelsea Bodie, Psychologist and Parenting & Postpartum Expert, Founder & Owner of Mama Psychologists

From the Publisher