Baby signs transform daily routines into communication opportunities, allowing infants as young as 8 months old to express needs like hunger, thirst, tiredness, and diaper changes before they can speak. Rather than guessing why your baby is crying during breakfast or resisting bedtime, signing gives children a concrete way to participate in the predictable rhythms of their day.
A baby who can sign “milk” when hungry or “sleep” when tired experiences less frustration, and research from the NIH demonstrates that children who learn to sign during infancy have fewer tantrums and better social-emotional skills as a result. The timing works in your favor: babies begin understanding common words like “drink” or “daddy” around 6 months old, which means you can start introducing signs during routine activities at 6 to 7 months, even though most babies won’t produce their own signs until around 8 months. This article covers which daily routine signs prove most useful, how to incorporate signing naturally into feeding, sleeping, and changing routines, what the research actually shows about benefits and limitations, and practical strategies for making signs stick without adding stress to already busy days.
Table of Contents
- Why Do Baby Signs Work So Well During Daily Routines?
- The Six Essential Signs for Mealtime Routines
- Diaper Changing Signs: Turning Disruptions into Conversations
- What the Research Actually Shows About Long-Term Benefits
- Troubleshooting When Signs Are Not Sticking
- Adapting Signs for Childcare Settings
- Looking Ahead: Signs as a Bridge to Spoken Language
- Conclusion
Why Do Baby Signs Work So Well During Daily Routines?
Daily routines provide the ideal context for learning signs because they happen repeatedly in predictable sequences with consistent language. When you sign “eat” before every meal and “sleep” before every nap, you create dozens of natural repetitions each week without any extra effort. This consistency matters because babies need to see a sign many times in context before they understand its meaning and many more before they produce it themselves. The physical nature of routines also helps. During feeding, your baby is focused on food and already watching your hands. During diaper changes, you have a captive audience on the changing table.
During bath time, you have their attention and eye contact naturally. Compare this to trying to teach abstract concepts or words for objects that appear randomly throughout the day. Routine-based signs connect directly to what the baby wants and needs in that moment, creating immediate relevance. Research supports this approach. An NIH-funded study by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn at the University of California found that infants exposed to sign language acquire first signs at an earlier age than typical first spoken words, providing effective communication several months before non-signing peers develop speech. Daily routines accelerate this timeline further because the context is so clear and repetitive.
The Six Essential Signs for Mealtime Routines
Mealtime offers the richest opportunity for signing because babies are highly motivated by food and the routine happens multiple times daily. The most useful mealtime signs are “milk,” “eat,” “drink,” “more,” “all done,” and “water.” The “milk” sign involves opening and closing your fist as if milking a cow. For “eat” or “food,” bring your fingertips together and tap them to your mouth. “Drink” uses a C-shaped hand tilted toward your mouth as if holding a cup. “More” may be the single most versatile sign because it applies beyond food to any situation where your child wants something to continue. Make the sign by pinching your fingers together on both hands and tapping the fingertips together. This sign often becomes a baby’s first because the desire for “more” of something enjoyable is such a powerful motivator. However, some babies overuse “more” once they learn it, signing it constantly even when they don’t actually want anything. If this happens, teach “all done” as a counterbalance so they have vocabulary for both wanting and finishing. One limitation worth noting: babies under 12 months often approximate signs rather than producing them perfectly. Your baby’s “milk” sign might look like a general fist-squeezing motion, and their “more” might involve clapping rather than precise fingertip tapping.
This is normal and expected. Accept approximations enthusiastically while continuing to model the correct form yourself. ## How to Introduce Signs During Sleep and Nap Routines Sleep routines benefit from signs that help babies communicate tiredness before reaching the overtired, inconsolable stage. The primary sign is “sleep,” made by drawing your hand down across your face while closing your fingers over your eyes, mimicking the closing of eyelids. Pair this with signs for your specific bedtime ritual elements: “bath,” “book,” “blanket,” or whatever sequence you follow. For example, a family might develop this signed sequence: “bath” followed by “diaper,” then “book,” then “sleep.” After several weeks of consistent modeling, a toddler might start signing “book” unprompted when placed in the crib, indicating they want their story before sleep. This kind of communication reveals your child’s understanding of the routine and their desire to participate in it rather than simply being subjected to it. The challenge with sleep signs is timing. A very tired baby has little patience for learning new things, and attempting to teach signs when your child is already fussy often backfires. Instead, introduce sleep-related signs during calm, alert times. You might practice “sleep” while reading a book about bedtime or sign “bath” when you mention the tub during other activities. The learning happens during low-pressure moments, and the application happens during the actual routine.
Diaper Changing Signs: Turning Disruptions into Conversations
Diaper changes interrupt whatever your baby was doing and often trigger protests, making them a challenging time for signing. Yet this is exactly why signs prove valuable here. A baby who knows the “diaper” and “change” signs understands what is about to happen and why. This predictability reduces resistance for many children. The diaper change sign varies slightly between sources, but one common approach combines a patting motion on the hip area with the “change” sign.
Some families simplify to just signing “diaper” alone. What matters less than the specific sign is the consistency of using it every single time you approach a diaper change. Say and sign “diaper change” before picking your baby up, while walking to the changing table, and while unfastening the diaper. Beyond announcement signs, diaper changes create opportunity for teaching body part signs and action signs like “up,” “down,” “help,” and “gentle.” One study from PMC noted that parents who use signs with their babies experience less stress and frustration and are more affectionate with their babies. This finding makes sense in the diaper-change context: instead of mechanically processing a diaper while your baby squirms, signing turns the interaction into communication, which feels more connected for both parties.
What the Research Actually Shows About Long-Term Benefits
Parents considering baby sign language deserve accurate information about what research supports and where the evidence has limitations. The strongest finding comes from the NIH-funded Acredolo and Goodwyn study, which found that children signed to as infants scored an average of 12 IQ points higher at age 8 compared to non-signing peers. This is a substantial effect if it holds up to replication. Additional research shows enhanced early literacy skills, including letter recognition and phonemic awareness, in children who learned signs as babies. The proposed mechanism is that signing draws attention to language itself, making children more aware of words as discrete units of meaning.
Research also consistently shows no speech delay from signing. This addresses parents’ most common concern, and the evidence is clear: the overwhelming majority of studies show positive short-term and long-term effects, with none demonstrating that signing delays spoken language. However, a review by Ontario, Canada experts identified methodological problems in some baby sign studies. They noted that more rigorous research with blinding, random assignment, and better controls is needed before the field can make definitive claims. The IQ and literacy findings, while encouraging, come from a limited number of studies. Parents should approach baby signing expecting concrete short-term benefits in communication and reduced frustration while understanding that dramatic long-term cognitive benefits, though plausible, require more research to confirm.
Troubleshooting When Signs Are Not Sticking
Several common obstacles prevent signs from taking hold. The most frequent issue is inconsistency. Teaching a sign requires not just using it sometimes but using it nearly every single time the relevant situation occurs, across all caregivers. If one parent signs “milk” but the other does not, if daycare uses different signs, or if signing only happens when parents remember, babies receive mixed signals and learning slows dramatically. Another obstacle is introducing too many signs at once. Start with three to five signs maximum, focused on your child’s highest-interest items and most frustrating moments. Expand only after your baby shows recognition of the initial signs.
A baby who knows “more,” “milk,” and “eat” has tools for mealtime communication. Adding “banana,” “cracker,” “spoon,” and “cup” simultaneously may confuse more than help. Watch for the difference between recognition and production. Your baby may understand a sign long before producing it. If you sign “milk” and your baby looks at their bottle, that is success, even if they are not signing back yet. Some babies have a production gap of several months after demonstrating comprehension. Resist the urge to drill or pressure. Research indicates that parent stress increases when signing feels like homework rather than natural communication.
Adapting Signs for Childcare Settings
When your baby attends daycare or has multiple caregivers, coordination becomes essential. Professional programs like the Baby Signs Center Certification Package provide training specifically for early childhood educators implementing baby sign language in group care settings. If your childcare provider has not received formal training, consider sharing your home signs directly.
Create a simple reference sheet with pictures or descriptions of your family’s core signs. Focus on the five or six signs most relevant to your baby’s day: “milk” or “drink,” “eat,” “more,” “all done,” “sleep,” and “diaper.” Meeting with caregivers to demonstrate signs in person works better than written instructions alone because sign language is visual and kinesthetic. Ask whether the daycare already uses any signs, since many programs incorporate at least “more” and “all done,” and align your home signs with theirs when possible.
Looking Ahead: Signs as a Bridge to Spoken Language
Baby signs serve as scaffolding for spoken language rather than a replacement for it. As your child’s verbal abilities develop between 12 and 24 months, they will naturally drop signs in favor of words. Many children go through a transitional phase where they sign and speak simultaneously, saying “more” while also making the sign. This redundancy typically fades as speech becomes easier and faster.
Some families continue signing selectively even after speech develops well. Signs remain useful in loud environments, across distances, and for communication during meals when talking with a full mouth is difficult. Children who learned signs as babies also transition more smoothly to formal sign language education if the family chooses to pursue that later. The neural pathways and motor patterns established in infancy provide a foundation for more complex signing.
Conclusion
Baby signs turn the repetitive necessities of daily life into meaningful communication exchanges. By consistently signing during meals, diaper changes, naps, and other routine moments, you give your baby the tools to express needs months before speech develops. Research supports reduced frustration, fewer tantrums, and enhanced parent-child connection as reliable benefits, with promising but less definitive evidence for longer-term cognitive advantages.
Start with just a few high-value signs tied to your most frequent routines, model them consistently every time the relevant situation occurs, and accept your baby’s approximations as valid communication. Coordinate with other caregivers to maintain consistency, and resist the temptation to introduce too many signs before the first ones take hold. The goal is not to create a signing prodigy but to give your baby a voice during the months when they understand far more than they can say.