If you have started using infant sign language with your little one, you may be wondering how long it will be until your baby can begin signing back to you.

Each baby will follow their own unique development timeline so the answer will be different for each child. In general, babies can begin signing back to you somewhere between the ages of 6-12 months.

If you started teaching baby sign language really early on in their life, don’t despair. Even though this seems like it is a long time to wait, you have already provided them with a valuable head start. Some parents have reported that they started signing with their babies at a really early age but gave up because the baby wasn’t able to do the signs back to them at that point in time. Interestingly, the baby started to sign to them 5 months later, even though it had been months since they saw that sign. If you started early, just relax knowing that at least your baby can understand you.

By the age of about 4-6 months, the baby will be able to respond to your signs. They may not be able to replicate them or specifically ask for something using baby signs but they will be able to understand your signs. You will need to rely on their body language and facial expressions to see if you have been understood. If you sign to your baby for something and they bounce around, flap and get all excited it is a pretty good indication that you have been understood.

The signing progress follows this simple path. At first, when you begin using baby sign language, it will be foreign to both of you. At this stage only introduce one or two signs. The next stage is where you are comfortably and unconsciously performing the sign every time you speak that word. Shortly following this phase you may realize that your baby understands you.

This phase will continue for a little while until your baby develops the ability to have some control over their hands and limbs. At this stage the baby will be eager to show you their signs every now and then but it may not be consistent. Make sure you offer a lot of praise and encouragement during this phase. If they have signed for something, reward them by giving them what they signed for. If this is not appropriate, re-direct them to something else using a different sign. Let them know they have been understood. This will be a great bonding moment for you both and the excitement will be shared equally. Don’t be alarmed if it takes another week or two until they sign to you again; if you are patient it will come. The next stage will keep you on your toes. Once they have worked out a few signs they will want more and more. Keeping up with them will be your biggest hurdle; they may even make up a few signs of their own.

Remember that the signs are a temporary solution and will be replaced by speech when the time comes. Always sign to the baby and speak the word at the same time to re-enforce the association between the sign and the word.

So it might seem like a long wait until your baby can sign back to you, but the reward can be as exciting as watching them take their first steps or speak their first words.

Toddler Interpreter teach Baby Signs and they offer the best Free Baby Sign Language Chart  available online and their Baby Sign Language Book is used by parents and childcare centres in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to Teach Baby Sign Language. Sign Language for Babies is easy using Toddler Interpreter’s comprehensive Baby Sign Language Dictionary. Sign Language for Toddlers can help reduce frustration and Baby Sign Language has proved very beneficial for Premature Babies, children with Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome and other babies at risk of developing a speech delay.

If all of your friends toddlers are babbling away and your toddler is not talking yet you may have reason to become concerned. One of the things parents often use to gauge their child’s development is how early they start talking. Babies start off experimenting with noises from an early age, usually consisting of babbling noises, the typical “goo goo” and “gaa gaa” sounds, these will turn into “ma ma” and “da da”. These babbling sounds eventually progress into Mommy and Daddy. So how do you determine whether your child has delayed speech development and what do you do if your toddler is not talking yet?

On a daily basis your child will find different ways to shape their mouth and change the noise they are making; the first step in their speech development. Parents naturally spend a great deal of time talking to their baby’s but they do this instinctually and mostly to enjoy the social interaction it offers. Many don’t realize that this is also essential for the development of their speech and language skills.  

Babies recognize the sound of their parent’s voices from even before birth; they become familiar with us when they are in the womb. Parent’s voices are comforting for them, especially for newborns before their vision is fully developed. Babies and toddlers mimic their parents; that’s how they learn. The more verbal communication you engage in with your child, the faster they will learn.

By the time your child is the age of twelve to eighteen months your baby should be saying words like Mommy and Daddy. Over the next year of your child’s speech development, they will learn to put together small sentences and communicate their needs to their family members. By the age of 21 months most children can be understood by their family. If your child cannot communicate with family members and be understood by the age of 30 months there would be cause for concern. At any stage, if your child is not meeting the age appropriate developmental timelines you should seek professional opinion. Trust your instincts, more often than not parents know best.

If your toddler isn’t talking yet there are things you can do to encourage speech development. Keyword signing, otherwise known as  Baby Sign Language has been shown by researchers to increase language acquisition by up to 3 months. Children using sign language have the language re-enforced to them by the parent as the gestures are used in conjunction with the word. Parent’s who use sign language with their children are often more aware of their communication with their baby’s and flood them with language on a daily basis.

Gesture based baby sign language also improves word comprehension as the gesture is a natural movement that mimics the meaning of the word. Reading to your child is another important strategy that will go a long way to improving your child’s language skills. When they are exposed to reading at an early age they pick up on the way language ebbs and flows and are more likely to have an interest in books later on.

So if you are concerned that your toddler is not talking yet, assess the developmental timeline as make sure they are reaching the recommended milestones. Not all babies develop at the same rate and the normal range can differ by months. If you are looking for ways to encourage speech development because your toddler is not talking yet, keyword signing and reading are both great places to start.

Teaching a simple keyword based communication tool such as Baby Sign Language can help to accelerate your child’s speech comprehension and development. More importantly it can also provide an invaluable head start if you find out later that they suffer from a speech delay. For more information visit Toddler Interpreter.

Toddler Interpreter teach Baby Signs and they offer the best Free Baby Sign Language Chart  available online and their Baby Sign Language Book is used by parents and childcare centres in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to Teach Baby Sign Language. Sign Language for Babies is easy using Toddler Interpreter’s comprehensive Baby Sign Language Dictionary. Sign Language for Toddlers can help reduce frustration and Baby Sign Language has proved very beneficial for Premature Babies, children with Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome and other babies at risk of developing a speech delay.

Printable Sign Language for Kids is available on the left hand side of this page.

Enter your details on the left to receive a free printable sign language for kids chart - a chart that has been specifically designed for using sign language with babies, toddlers and children.

Research is now confirming what we have known for years – communication is so much more than words. Our human interaction relies so much on the visual stimulation and interaction.

They are now finding, through careful studies of the brain that visual communication is processed by the exact part of the brain that processes our spoken communication. This is a breakthrough not only for medical research but for those wishing to teach Baby Sign Language to their child.

Printable sign language for kids makes it easier for you to refer to the signs. Print our free chart so that you can place it in a prominent part of your house and remember to do the signs frequently.

There are so many benefits from learning to sign with your children:

• The gestures used in Baby Sign Language are universal – the vast majority of the keyword signs used in children’s or baby sign language are the same world-wide.

• Printable sign language for kids is a fantastic way to initiate communication with your baby, toddler or child.

Enjoy the benefits of this wonderful communication method with our free printable sign language for kids.

Toddler Interpreter teach Baby Signs and they offer the best Free Baby Sign Language Chart  available online and their Baby Sign Language Book is used by parents and childcare centres in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to Teach Baby Sign Language. Sign Language for Babies is easy using Toddler Interpreter’s comprehensive Baby Sign Language Dictionary. Sign Language for Toddlers can help reduce frustration and Baby Sign Language has proved very beneficial for Premature Babies, children with Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome and other babies at risk of developing a speech delay.