Baby sign language involves pairing a simple gesture with an everyday word as soon as the child begins to use their hands intentionally. You can start around 6 to 8 months, and the first signs produced by the child generally appear between 8 and 12 months. It is not a separate language: it is temporary support on the way to speech.
What exactly are we talking about?
The term refers to a specific practice. Parents borrow a few signs from French Sign Language, LSF, and use them while speaking normally. The gesture accompanies the word; it never replaces it.
This practice has several names depending on the country and author: signs paired with speech, gestural communication paired with speech, or baby signing in the English-speaking world. In France, the most common term remains “baby sign language.”
It is therefore not about learning LSF, which is a complete language with its own grammar and syntax. Instead, parents borrow a limited vocabulary of ten to thirty signs focused on the child’s practical needs.
Baby sign language: what age should you start?
You can introduce the first signs around 6 to 8 months. The child will not reproduce them right away: they first need to observe, then coordinate their hands. The first attempts most often appear between 8 and 12 months, sometimes later, and this variation is normal.
This timeline follows motor development. Voluntary hand control develops before fine control of the vocal system. A child can grasp, release, and bang two objects together well before pronouncing an articulated word.
This development of hand control is described in our article on grasping and the age at which babies pick up objects. Signing assumes that this stage is already underway.
The sign that comes before the word
At around nine months, a gesture familiar to all parents appears: the child points with their finger. This is a major communication milestone that comes before speech. We have devoted a full article to pointing and what it means.
Signing naturally extends this intention. The child already has an active gestural channel. You simply give them more vocabulary in that channel while waiting for speech to take over.
What research says—and does not say
The available research agrees on one point: signing with a baby does not delay the onset of speech. This is parents’ most common concern, and it is not supported by the evidence.
When it comes to benefits, however, the findings are more nuanced than is often suggested. A systematic review published in the journal First Language in 2014 examined studies involving hearing children under 36 months. It found no strong evidence of a lasting vocabulary advantage, nor any adverse effect on language development.
The few benefits measured in studies from the 2000s disappeared after 24 months. No difference was found during the third year. The authors concluded that there was neither reason to recommend the practice on a large scale nor reason to discourage parents who wished to use it.
What emerges more consistently concerns interaction. Parents who sign look at their child more, slow down, repeat, and wait for a response. This is precisely the quality of interaction that supports language, as we explain in our article on the importance of talking to your child from birth.
In other words, the benefit probably comes less from the gestures themselves than from the attitude they encourage in the adult. That is reason enough to consider the practice, provided you do not expect spectacular results.
Which signs should you start with?
Choose words the child encounters several times a day. A sign used once a week will not become established. Frequency matters more than quantity.
- Eat and drink: present at every meal and easy to repeat.
- More: the most useful of all, it helps relieve many frustrations.
- Finished or done: it allows the child to signal that they want to leave the table.
- Sleep: associated with the bedtime routine.
- Comforter: the comfort object, often the first sign the child reproduces.
- Bath: a daily and highly ritualized moment.
Three to five signs are enough to get started. Add more once the first ones have been mastered. A list that is too long discourages the adult before the child.
How to do it in practice
The method follows a few simple rules. Sit facing the child, at their level, during a calm moment. Say the word and make the sign at the same time, without exaggerating.
Repeat it whenever the real situation arises, never as an exercise. If the child makes an approximate gesture, accept it: their hand does not yet have the precision of yours. Then repeat the word with the correct sign, without correcting them.
Imitation does the rest. It is one of the main drivers of learning during this period, as explained in our article on imitation and learning through observation.
Where and when to sign during the day
The most effective moments are those when the adult and child face each other without screens or distractions. Mealtimes, diaper changes, bath time, and floor play all meet this condition.
The floor remains the best position for a gestural exchange. The child is stable, their hands are free, and the adult’s face is within reach. A firm, spacious play mat makes these moments of interaction easier and more comfortable.
Many parents set up this time in a way that is not ideal without realizing it. Our article on common mistakes involving baby play mats lists the setups that interfere with interaction.
Limitations to be aware of
Signing does not suit every family, and that is not a problem. Some parents find the practice artificial, while others see no noticeable benefit. There is no obligation to continue.
Two points deserve attention. First, consistency: if only one adult signs and the others do not follow along, the child receives an inconsistent signal. Second, gradual fading: signs should naturally disappear as words emerge.
Finally, signing never replaces professional advice. If you are concerned about your child’s language development, talk to the doctor who follows them. Our article on language development from 0 to 3 years reviews the usual milestones and warning signs not to ignore.
Signing and understanding: what is happening behind the scenes
For a sign to have meaning, the child must connect a gesture with something that is absent. This ability depends on a specific cognitive development: understanding that an object continues to exist when it is out of sight. It develops during the second half of the first year.
We describe this stage in our article on object permanence. A child who has mastered it is ready to understand that a hand movement refers to the bottle stored in the cupboard.
This is also why the practice naturally comes to an end. When the word becomes faster and more precise than the gesture, the child chooses the word. The sign has fulfilled its purpose: to build a bridge.
