Care Courses Blog

If you’ve ever seen a tod­dler tap their fin­ger­tips togeth­er to ask for more snack, you’ve wit­nessed baby sign lan­guage in action. 

In this blog, we’ll explore how sim­ple signs—like more, milk, and all done—can open up ear­ly com­mu­ni­ca­tion for infants and toddlers. 

You’ll also learn how to get start­ed with sign­ing, plus tips for using it effec­tive­ly in child­care settings.

Communication

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion begins long before a child speaks their first word. For infants and tod­dlers, baby sign lan­guage can be a pow­er­ful tool that bridges the gap between ear­ly under­stand­ing and ver­bal expression. 

Whether you’re a child­care provider, cen­ter direc­tor, or par­ent, learn­ing how to imple­ment baby signs can trans­form your inter­ac­tions with lit­tle ones—creating stronger bonds, reduc­ing frus­tra­tion, and sup­port­ing inclu­sive environments.

Instructions for a few signs:

all done/finished: Open both hands with palms fac­ing you, then turn them out­ward and down­ward.
 
apple: Bend your index fin­ger and rotate it against your cheek near your mouth.
 
ball: Form each hand into a cup shape and then bring them togeth­er to cre­ate a round shape, as if you are hold­ing a ball. This sign is usu­al­ly done in front of your body and can be moved slight­ly to mim­ic the action of hold­ing or bounc­ing a ball.

Why Baby Sign Language Matters

Baby sign lan­guage isn’t just about teach­ing cute gestures—it’s a mean­ing­ful way to pro­mote cog­ni­tive, lan­guage, and social-emo­tion­al devel­op­ment in very young chil­dren. By intro­duc­ing sim­ple signs dur­ing dai­ly rou­tines, edu­ca­tors can help chil­dren express needs and emo­tions long before speech devel­ops. This ear­ly com­mu­ni­ca­tion helps build con­fi­dence, reduce tantrums, and strength­en the adult-child connection.

In mul­ti­lin­gual set­tings or when work­ing with chil­dren who have spe­cial needs, baby signs can offer an espe­cial­ly help­ful bridge between spo­ken lan­guage and under­stand­ing. For chil­dren with speech delays or lan­guage dis­or­ders, signs pro­vide an acces­si­ble, visu­al way to communicate.

A Few Great Signs

Using Baby Signs in Childcare Settings

Here are a few key strate­gies for imple­ment­ing signs in your program:

• Start ear­ly and keep it sim­ple: Signs like milk, more, eat, and all done are ide­al for infants around 4–9 months old.
  
• Post images of signs near where you’re like­ly to need them: Print the sign for “dia­per” over the dia­per chang­ing area, and “book” near your cozy corner.
  
• Incor­po­rate signs into rou­tines: Use them dur­ing dia­per­ing, meal­time, and play to give signs mean­ing through context.
  
• Mod­el con­sis­tent­ly: Rep­e­ti­tion helps chil­dren asso­ciate ges­tures with concepts.
  
• Encour­age fam­i­ly par­tic­i­pa­tion: Send home info or include signs in dai­ly reports so fam­i­lies can con­tin­ue the prac­tice at home.
  
• Adapt for indi­vid­ual needs: Baby signs can be cus­tomized based on a child’s abil­i­ties and devel­op­men­tal level.

You play an impor­tant role in track­ing each child’s lan­guage jour­ney. Observ­ing and doc­u­ment­ing when a child begins to under­stand or use signs can help you tai­lor sup­port and cel­e­brate chil­dren’s devel­op­men­tal milestones.

Conclusion

Intro­duc­ing baby sign lan­guage cre­ates more than just a tool for communication—it nur­tures con­nec­tion, inclu­sion, and ear­ly learn­ing. Whether you’re sup­port­ing a typ­i­cal­ly devel­op­ing tod­dler or work­ing with a child who faces com­mu­ni­ca­tion chal­lenges, baby signs open a new world of inter­ac­tion and understanding.

Want to Learn More?

Read our blog What is Baby Sign Language?

Take our 3‑hour course: Baby Sign Lan­guage: Sup­port­ing Ear­ly Com­mu­ni­ca­tion to dive deep­er into this top­ic. Check it out!