Mommy
To sign mommy, extend and spread your fingers apart on your dominant hand. With your pinkie facing forward, tap your thumb on your chin. The hand sign for mommy is the same as the hand sign for daddy, but signed lower on the face.
Traditionally, it is said that male signs are above the nose or around the forehead, because you can imagine a man tipping his hat to greet a woman. On the other hand, the female sign is below the nose, or around the chin area, because that's where women used to tie their bonnets securely around their head.
SIGN USAGE
Mommy is a great starter sign and will likely be one of the first that your baby learns. Make the sign every time you approach your baby. If your baby is fussing and calling for you, make the mommy sign and give her a cheery smile, saying, "Hey, Baby! It's Mommy."
RELATED SIGNS
Flash Card
I would not use the mommy flash card to teach a baby. Instead, teach the baby the mommy sign by using the actual mom! If you do want to use the flash card, try and get a picture of the baby’s actual mommy to replace this generic picture.
14 Responses to “Mommy”
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Most of your pictures and videos show the signs being performed with the right hand. I am left handed. Can I sign with my left? Or would that be confusing?
Hi Judy, The recommendation is to do the dominant sign with your dominant hand — not necessarily the right hand. So please go ahead and use your left hand. Cheers!
The sign videos on this site are great. I use them a lot. I do not need any of the products, but if it were possible to donate, I would like to donate to support making online videos.
Hello there,
This is such a wonderful site!
I was wondering, are these baby signs mainly based on the ASL signs?
Thanks
ADMIN – Hi Alice,
Our signs are baby signs based on ASL with some adaptations to better address the motor skills of babies.
For families with two mothers, is there another way to say mom/mommy/mama? I’ve been to one baby signing class and the teacher showed me tapping my index finger on the right side of my chin for “mommy”but I haven’t been able to find that anywhere online to confirm it. I don’t want to teach our daughter something not quite right, or offensive. If you could tell me another way to say mom/mommy I’d appreciate it so much!
ADMIN – Hi Sarah,
For families with two moms we use the sign for mom and the first initial. Hopefully the first initials are different.
Is there a variation for step mother?
ADMIN – Hi Lizzie,
Please refer to my prior answer.
Is there a separate sign for step mother?
ADMIN – Hi Lizzie,
Yes,
this is how you sign stepbrother, stepsister, stepmother, or stepfather, you hold your hand straight out in front your chest and, with your thumb pointing straight up and index finger pointing forward, youshake your hand back and forth; then sign the person’s.
Where can I get this for free. New grandma and funds are tight.
ADMIN – Hi B,
All of our resources are free and printable.
Male Sign so very happy to sign mom
You should have an app for smartphones
Also, a man’s center of balance is usually at the shoulders, and a woman’s is usually at the hips. So you could say that men are more “top-heavy”. Also, the old stereotype is that men are logical (head) and women are emotional (heart)…. but we all know that one’s not too reliable!
Diana, You are correct. The Bonnet String is the indication for the woman and the Tipping of the mans hat is for the male.
Good job. *Thumbs Up*
Female signs are closer to the heart 😉
I think I read somewhere that the lower sign is for a woman’s bonnet string, and the upper sign is for a man tipping his hat. 🙂