The tired sign in baby sign language is made by placing both hands on your chest with fingers extended and held together, fingertips touching the sides of your torso, and elbows held up””then dropping your elbows down while keeping your fingertips in contact with your body. This drooping motion conveys the physical feeling of weariness, mimicking how our bodies naturally slump when exhausted. To make it more memorable for your baby, project tiredness in your facial expression and add a small yawn while signing. Teaching this single sign can transform your evenings.
Instead of guessing whether your eight-month-old is hungry, overstimulated, or simply exhausted, you give them a tool to tell you directly. One parent might spend weeks trying to decode their baby’s fussiness at 6 PM, only to discover through signing that their child was tired an hour before the usual bedtime””their schedule had simply shifted. This article covers when to start teaching the tired sign, how to incorporate it into your bedtime routine, common mistakes parents make, and what to do when your baby modifies the sign or seems uninterested. You’ll also find guidance on pairing the tired sign with other sleep-related signs and resources for expanding your baby sign language vocabulary.
Table of Contents
- How Do You Teach the Tired Sign in Baby Sign Language?
- When Should You Start Teaching Baby Sign Language?
- Incorporating the Tired Sign Into Your Bedtime Routine
- What If Your Baby Modifies the Tired Sign?
- Common Mistakes When Teaching the Tired Sign
- Resources for Learning More Signs
- Building From the Tired Sign to a Sleep Vocabulary
- Conclusion
How Do You Teach the Tired Sign in Baby Sign Language?
Teaching the tired sign requires consistency more than technique. Begin by signing “tired” every time you notice your baby showing signs of sleepiness””rubbing eyes, yawning, becoming fussy, or losing interest in play. Say the word “tired” out loud while making the sign, so your baby learns to connect the gesture, the spoken word, and the physical sensation simultaneously. The best time to introduce the tired sign is during your existing bedtime routine, when the context is clear and repeatable. As you dim the lights or start a bath, sign “tired” while saying something like “You look tired.
Time for sleep.” The routine provides built-in repetition without requiring extra effort on your part. Over days and weeks, your baby will begin associating the sign with what comes next: rest. However, don’t expect immediate results. Babies typically cannot sign back until they are between six and nine months old, even if you’ve been signing since they were four months old. During this gap, your baby is forming connections between signs, words, and experiences””they understand more than they can express. If you start signing at four months and your baby doesn’t sign back until nine months, those five months weren’t wasted; they were foundational.
When Should You Start Teaching Baby Sign Language?
The optimal window for introducing sign language to babies is between four and six months old. At this age, babies are developing the cognitive ability to understand that symbols represent things, but they haven’t yet developed the fine motor control to sign back. Starting early means your baby absorbs signs passively while their brain builds the necessary connections. This timing aligns with a broader principle in child development: receptive language always precedes expressive language. Your baby understands “no” long before they can say it, and the same applies to signs.
A baby who has been exposed to the tired sign since four months old will likely recognize it and respond appropriately (by calming down or accepting being put to bed) even before they can produce the sign themselves. If you’re starting later””say, with a ten-month-old””don’t worry. Older babies often pick up signs faster because their motor skills are more developed. The tradeoff is that you’ve missed some months of passive learning, and your baby may have already developed other ways of communicating tiredness (like a specific cry or gesture) that compete with the new sign. Starting at four to six months offers the cleanest slate, but starting later still works.
Incorporating the Tired Sign Into Your Bedtime Routine
bedtime routines provide the ideal context for teaching the tired sign because they happen daily, follow a predictable sequence, and occur when your baby is actually experiencing tiredness. The sign becomes meaningful precisely because it’s used at a moment when the feeling it describes is present. A practical approach: Sign “tired” at three specific moments during your routine. First, when you notice early tiredness cues (eye rubbing, decreased activity). Second, when you announce bedtime (“You’re tired””time for bed”).
Third, when you lay your baby down. This triple exposure within a single routine accelerates learning without overwhelming your baby with new information. Consider pairing the tired sign with the signs for “sleep” and “bed” once your baby shows recognition of the tired sign. These related signs create a small vocabulary cluster around nighttime, giving your baby multiple ways to communicate. Some babies gravitate toward one sign over others based on what feels easier for their hands, so offering options increases the chances that they’ll communicate about sleep.
What If Your Baby Modifies the Tired Sign?
Babies rarely produce signs exactly as adults demonstrate them. Their fine motor skills are still developing, so approximations are normal and should be celebrated rather than corrected. A baby might touch their stomach instead of their chest, or drop only one elbow, or simplify the movement entirely. These modifications are still communication. The key is responding immediately when your baby attempts any version of the tired sign.
If your baby touches their chest and drops their shoulders””even sloppily””and you respond by beginning the bedtime routine, you’ve reinforced the connection between their gesture and the result. This immediate response strengthens learning far more than waiting for perfect form. Over time, as motor skills develop, the sign will become more precise. However, if your baby’s modification is so different from the original that you genuinely can’t tell what they mean, gently demonstrate the sign again while acknowledging their attempt. You might say “Tired? Are you tired?” while signing clearly, then wait to see if they try again. Avoid over-correcting, which can frustrate both of you and discourage future attempts.
Common Mistakes When Teaching the Tired Sign
The most frequent mistake parents make is inconsistency””signing “tired” sometimes but not always, or only signing when they remember. Babies learn through repetition, and sporadic signing sends mixed signals about whether the gesture matters. Commit to signing “tired” every single time you put your baby down for sleep, even when you’re exhausted yourself, even when guests are visiting. Another common error is signing without speaking. Baby sign language works best as a bridge to spoken language, not a replacement for it. Always say “tired” while signing tired.
This dual input helps your baby connect the gesture to the word, which supports both signing and eventual speech development. Parents who sign silently may find their babies learn the sign but struggle to connect it to verbal communication later. Finally, some parents give up too soon. The gap between when you start signing (four to six months) and when babies typically sign back (six to nine months) can feel discouraging. If you’ve been signing for two months with no response, it’s tempting to conclude that it isn’t working. But those months of exposure are building recognition and understanding. Trust the process through the silent period.
Resources for Learning More Signs
Flash cards designed specifically for baby sign language can reinforce learning for both parents and older babies. Cards featuring the tired sign alongside other bedtime-related signs (sleep, bed, blanket, book) help parents remember exact hand positions and give toddlers visual references during the day.
Books offer more comprehensive guidance. “Baby Sign Language Made Easy: 101 Signs to Start Communicating with Your Child Now” by Lane Rebelo provides detailed instructions for over a hundred signs, including tired, along with strategies for incorporating signs into daily life. A book like this helps parents build a broader vocabulary beyond individual signs learned piecemeal.
Building From the Tired Sign to a Sleep Vocabulary
Once your baby masters the tired sign, consider it a foundation rather than an endpoint. The signs for sleep, bed, blanket, and book form a natural cluster that supports bedtime communication. A toddler who can sign “tired” plus “book” is telling you they want to read before sleeping””a level of specificity that reduces frustration for everyone.
This expansion happens naturally as your baby grows. A child who learned the tired sign at six months might add “sleep” at ten months and “book” at twelve months. Each new sign builds on the communication framework you’ve already established, making subsequent signs easier to learn. The tired sign, often one of the first parents teach, becomes the gateway to a richer signing vocabulary.
Conclusion
The tired sign””hands on chest, elbows dropping to convey weariness””gives babies a way to communicate exhaustion before frustration takes over. Teaching it requires consistency during bedtime routines, patience through the months before babies can sign back, and flexibility when your baby produces an imperfect approximation of what you’ve demonstrated.
Start signing to your baby between four and six months old, even though they won’t sign back until six to nine months at the earliest. Use the tired sign every time you begin the bedtime routine, pair it with the spoken word, and respond immediately when your baby attempts any version of the sign. Over time, this single gesture can reduce bedtime struggles and give you a clearer window into your baby’s needs.