Baby Sign Language

With my past nanny children, we started to introduce different signs around 4-5 months. We constantly repeated the same signs, while verbally saying them out loud. I recall starting with about 4 basic signs and gradually adding more every few months. The key is to keep at it. Your child may not show you these signs on his or her own until after 8 months or so, however by showing them visually, physically, and verbally they will be picking up on them.

Below is a chart from babysignlanguage.com of some basic signs to be introduced first. This site is an amazing resource! I found that milk, more, please, and thank you are the most helpful when it comes to communicating non verbally. Remember, this is a process. All children learn at their own pace and some (like mine) can be quite the sandbagger when it comes to showing you what they really know. Be patient and just have fun with it.