Top Ten Starter Sign Flash Cards

When you first start teaching your baby sign language, pick just three to five signs and reinforce them with lots of repetition. You want to pick words that are meaningful to your baby and that you will get the chance to use a lot during your day. Repetition is the secret behind teaching baby signs.

Here are ten signs that make good first signs.

A – Friends & Family Signs

The people around baby are the most important things in her life, so make great first signs.

Mommy – Mom is number one to your baby and you spend a lot of time together so makes a great first sign. Since you are there in person you probably don’t need the flash card, but printing it out might help you learn the sign.
Daddy – The dad sign is another one that babies are quick to latch onto.
Friends/Family – Close family or friends that your baby gets to see a lot of are also great first signs, particularly if they are caregivers for your baby. For example, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandmother, or grandfather.
Pets – If your baby’s collapses into giggles every time your dog or cat gets near, then these are going to make good first signs.

B – Food

A close second behind family is food. The food signs are also useful because they let you avert tantrums by letting your baby tell you what she wants instead of crying.

Milk – Milk is a natural choice to teach young children whether they are drinking breast milk, cow’s milk, formula, or even goat’s milk.
More – More is a very practical sign because it lets your baby communicate when she really wants more food, and when she is not really interested any more.

C – Fun Signs

You can also do a few signs for things that your baby thinks of as fun.

Fan – Babies seem to have an obsession with overhead fans. They just love them. Similarly, the overhead light is very popular.
Animals – Babies enjoy learning anything to do with animals. You up the fun level by making sounds to accompany the signs. Try the signs for lion, monkey, or frog.
Happy – The happy sign lets your baby share when she is having fun which just spreads the fun around and makes her even happier.
Book – For children that enjoy story time, this is a sign that baby’s are highly motivated to learn.

Remember, we only want to pick less than five signs to start. The ones I would pick are: mommy, daddy, milk, more, and something purely fun like dog.

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