Tiny Talk guides

When to start baby sign language

You can start baby sign language at any age. Many families begin around 6 months, when babies watch faces and hands closely. Starting earlier gives you practice, and starting later works too. Expect your baby to understand signs long before signing back. Many make a first sign near their first birthday, and some go straight to words.

Around 6 months is a natural time

Babies around 6 months pay close attention to the people who care for them. In one study, 6-month-old hearing babies who had never seen sign language watched slow, exaggerated signing aimed at babies more closely than ordinary adult signing². That interest makes the middle of the first year an easy time to begin.

Signing with a newborn does no harm. It mostly gives you practice, so the signs feel natural by the time your baby is watching. Starting later is fine too. Toddlers often pick up signs quickly when the signs name things they want, like milk, more, or a favorite toy. Reviews of the research have found no evidence that baby signing gets in the way of typical development⁸.

Understanding comes first

Babies understand signs and words before they use them. CDC's milestones show this order for all babies, whether or not they sign. By 9 months, most babies lift their arms to be picked up. By 1 year, most wave bye-bye and understand "no." By 15 months, most look at a familiar object when you name it, follow directions given with both a gesture and words, and point to ask for something¹.

So in the early weeks, watch for small signs of understanding. Your baby may perk up, look at the bottle, or kick their legs when you sign milk. That counts.

When first signs usually appear

Gestures and first words tend to grow up together⁵. In a study of 22 hearing babies who were shown gestures from 11 months, the first symbolic gesture came a little before the first spoken word. The gap was small but reliable³. Researchers still debate how big any head start for signs is, and the advantage they did find was short-lived⁴.

Many of the early ages you see quoted for first signs come from deaf children of Deaf parents who sign fluently all day. They do not come from hearing families using a handful of signs. A fair expectation for a hearing family: if your baby sees signs every day, a first sign often comes around the time first words do, near the first birthday, sometimes a little before. Some babies take longer. Some go straight to words. There is no standard age for a hearing baby to sign, so there is nothing to fall behind on.

What a first sign looks like

Your baby's first signs will be rough drafts. Researchers have studied deaf babies learning ASL from their parents. Those babies used the handshapes and movements they already made in their early hand play. Their errors followed simple motor patterns: extra repetition, and moving from the shoulder or elbow instead of the wrist⁶⁷. In practice, milk might be a whole hand opening and closing, and more might be a clap. Treat any attempt as the real sign and answer what it means.

How to begin

Pick three to five signs for things your baby wants every day. Sign right before you give the thing, while your baby is looking at you, and say the word as you sign. Babies learn from people, in the moment. In one study, babies who watched a word-learning video for a month learned no more words than babies who did not⁹. Learn a sign from a picture or video, then show it to your baby with your own hands and face.

Our guide to the first baby signs to teach walks through milk, more, all done, eat, and sleep.

When to talk to your baby's doctor

Signing is an extra, not a test. A baby who never signs back is not behind. Do talk to your baby's doctor if your baby is not meeting CDC's communication milestones, has lost skills they once had, or if you are worried for any reason¹. You do not have to wait. You can also ask to be connected with your state's early intervention program, which provides services for free or at reduced cost to children who qualify¹⁰.

Hearing matters for talking too. CDC's benchmarks call for a hearing screen before 1 month, a full hearing evaluation before 3 months for a baby who does not pass, and early intervention before 6 months for a baby with hearing loss¹¹.

This is general information, not medical advice. Ask your baby's doctor about your own baby.