Whether you have a simple or lengthy bedtime routine, chances are you do the same things every evening as you get your baby ready for bed. Using baby sign language by adding a sign or two into your routine is an easy way to guarantee your baby is exposed to the same signs consistently and will increase the likelihood they’ll sign back sooner.
Think of how great it would if your baby could sign “bed” when they were feeling tired, instead of crying. I’ve seen it happen – and it’s a beautiful sight! :)
In today’s free baby sign language mini-lesson I’m excited to share with you some of my favorite American Sign Language signs that you can use at bedtime (or nap time!). Pick a sign or two that you think will appeal to your baby the most, or that will best fit into your existing routine.
Enjoy learning some sign language that you can incorporate into your bedtime routine…
In today’s video you’ll learn how the American Sign Language (ASL) signs for BED, SLEEP, BATH, BRUSH TEETH, MOON, STARS, MILK, PACIFIER, BOOK, LIGHT and I LOVE YOU.
Bedtime Signs
Bonus! Free Printable…
I’ve also created a FREE printable guide that you can keep as a reference to help you remember how to do many of these signs.
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Thanks for watching and if you enjoyed this free baby sign language mini-lesson, please share with a friend!
Deciding which signs to start with is one of the first big questions parents face when beginning with baby sign language.
To make things super simple, I’ve put together this collection of 9 videos of my absolute favorite starter signs and created a totally FREE printable chart to go with it. Download the free chart below and print it out as a visual reminder of which signs you’re using and how to do them!
All Done
How to sign ALL DONE in American Sign Language. Oh the possibilities for this one are endless! Use this one whenever you are transitioning from one activity to another and your baby will get the idea. You can sign “all done” when you’re taking your baby out of the carrier, high chair, bath, car seat, you name it.
You can sign & say this at the end of a feeding or when you finish a book. You can use this sign along with the words “all done,” “finished,” and even “the end.” Once your baby starts signing this one back to you, it’s really helpful that they can let you know when they’ve had enough BEFORE the tears come.
How to sign BALL in American Sign Language. Curve all your fingers (this is called a “claw” handshape in ASL) and bring your hands together to show the shape of a ball. Pro tip: You can do this sign with a ball in your hands if it’s small enough. This is a great technique to show your baby the sign, because their eyes will be on the ball…AND your hands!
How to sign BATH in American Sign Language. Sign bath to your baby as you’re getting ready for bath time and during the bath. You can also use this sign when you see someone taking a bath in a book you’re reading. You can sign this one on your body or right on your baby’s body (if they don’t mind).
How to sign BED in American Sign Language. This one is super easy and babies can learn it really quickly. Ask your baby “do you want to go to bed?” when you suspect they’re getting sleepy.
How to sign DOG in American Sign Language. This is definitely not my best video because you can’t see my hand – sorry! But this is a super easy sign – just pat your thigh with your hand like you are calling a dog to come to you. Easy peasy.
There are 3 ways to sign dog in ASL. 1) Pat your thigh 2) Snap your fingers or 3) Do a combo of the pat & snap. I prefer keeping it simple by patting your leg. You can even pat your baby’s thigh to teach them this sign, just to give them the idea.
How to sign EAT in American Sign Language. The sign for “eat” is the same as the sign for “food” in ASL. I recommend introducing this sign when your baby starts eating solid foods. Use it every time your baby has something to eat and remember your baby’s sign might not look much like yours! They’ll do their best by either touching their mouth (or maybe even their ear, like my first did!). You don’t need to correct them, just keep doing it the right way and they’ll copy you to the best of their ability.
How to sign LIGHT in American Sign Language. Open your fingers to show the rays of light shining down on you. This is probably by *favorite* baby sign ever. Both my girls did this one early & often. It’s not one that you might typically think of, but it’s really motivating and exciting for babies.
Pro tip #1: Hold your baby and let them play with the light switch to show them this sign.
Pro tip #2: When your baby signs this one back, it might look a lot like the sign for “milk” but with their arm extended.
How to sign MILK in American Sign Language. Just open & close your hand like you’re milking a cow. This is an excellent first sign! If you think your baby’s ready for a feeding, you can sign milk and ask them “do you want some milk Then you can reinforce it by signing & saying it again while your baby is feeding. Use the sign for milk whether your baby is nursing or bottle-feeding.
How to sign MORE in American Sign Language. With fingers touching your thumbs, bring your fingertips of both hands together a few times.
This is a great first sign but can sometimes cause a little confusion. Babies quickly learn that they get something they want when they sign “more” so will often start signing “more” all the time. Parents are then left wondering, “more WHAT?” This is an easy first sign, but remember to also introduce signs for specifics things your baby might want (milk, book, daddy, crackers) so they can be more specific about what they want. ;)
Don’t forget to download and print the Free Baby Sign Language Chart. This will provide a handy reference to jog your memory on how to do these 9 starter signs. Just click the image below to download.
From Milk to Fireworks—Yael’s Baby Sign Language Story
Rowan is a 13-month old firecracker with two working moms: Birgitte, who is an engineer, and Yael, who works at a university. Living in beautiful Bergen, Norway, Rowan has been lucky to have one of his moms at home on parental leave up until he was a year old, and for now he is at a nanny’s three days a week. Yael speaks English to Rowan, and Birgitte speaks a mixture of English and Norwegian. Both of them use baby sign language to help facilitate Rowan’s early communication and to provide a bridge between his two languages.
How We Started Baby Sign Language
Birgitte and I knew other families that used signs with their babies, and I had studied ASL for a year when I was in college. I started using the sign for milk when I offered to nurse Rowan beginning when he was about five months old. We had looked at books on signing with your baby, but we didn’t really get serious about using other signs until Rowan signed “milk” back one night at bedtime.
Rowan signs “bear”
That first sign came in early August when Rowan was 9.5 months. He got a lot of positive feedback!
“You want milk? You signed milk! Of course you can get milk!”
I gave him the opportunity to nurse right away. After that he used the sign for milk every time he wanted to nurse, until about 12 months.
We were excited by that first sign. Then for a long while there was only one sign at a time. Rowan would learn a new sign, and the previous sign he had been using would disappear. Right around when he turned 13 months, he started adding signs, and very quickly, sometimes after seeing the sign only two times.
My advice for other parents: Be very patient! I signed milk to Rowan for several months every time he nursed before he signed anything back.
What We Love about Baby Sign Language
The most wonderful benefit of using baby sign language is seeing Rowan’s excitement at his ability to communicate with us about what he needs or wants, what he is seeing and thinking. It’s also exciting for us to have a little peek into Rowan’s world before he is able to express himself with spoken language. Birgitte and I are constantly thinking about what new signs to introduce.
At almost 14 months, Rowan can (and regularly does) sign: light, all done, dog, more, music, book, ball, car, food, bird (which he also uses for duck), bear, cheese, egg, mobile (he uses the sign for fan, since we don’t have any ceiling fans at home).
He also understands a good many other signs that we sign to him.
Baby Signing Success
When Rowan was 13 months, the family went into town for the annual Christmas tree lighting event and concert that ends with a big fireworks display. Rowan hadn’t seen fireworks before, and he was fascinated. (Yes, he had ear protection on).
Later, while having dinner at home, Yael, Birgitte and a visiting friend were talking about the fireworks. Suddenly Rowan raised both hands, signed “light” all over the place, waved his arms around. Then leaned his head far back looking up, as if looking at the sky. Then he looked at the adults and blew raspberries, making little explosive noises. He was talking about the fireworks! It was amazing!
Watch Rowan sign…
How Tiny Signs Online Helped
Tiny Signs Online was critical to our family’s success with early communication. We were already using the sign for milk and had long wanted to start baby sign language with Rowan. We had even bought a book, but it wasn’t until we made the commitment to the online course and watched the videos that we really started using signs in earnest.
Lane’s videos offered many important tips, especially about choosing which signs to use and how to recognize your baby’s early signs. Lane is enthusiastic and her suggestions are always helpful and to the point.
Through the members-only Facebook group, Lane has answered our questions almost right away, including quick videos to show particular signs by request, which kept up our motivation to keep signing. We also enjoyed sharing stories and successes.
Even though we had a baby sign book at home that we thought was quite good, the course really motivated us to use sign language actively, and to seek out and introduce new signs based on Rowan’s interests.
Join Tiny Signs Online
Learn more about Tiny Signs Online today to begin your own baby signing story.
One Saturday morning at my Tiny Signs class in Boston, I heard a dad say the following to another parent…
“Well now that I’m learning a little sign language, I’ll be able to talk to people anywhere I go!”
Well…actually…no.
A Common Misconception
Thinking that there is one “sign language” used throughout the world is a surprisingly common misconception. However, most people (when they actually give it some thought) quickly understand why that just isn’t possible.
Languages Evolve Geographically
Like spoken languages, sign languages evolve based on the geographic communities that use them, and are passed along from one generation to the next within those geographic regions. If you think about it, how would a Deaf person in rural Thailand learn to use the same sign language as the Deaf community in Australia? It just doesn’t make sense. And, because sign languages are constantly changing (there was no ASL sign for “texting” 10 years ago!), it would be impossible for communities across the globe to keep up with each other’s ever-changing vocabulary.
There is No One “Sign Language”
So there is no one “sign language” but many beautiful and diverse sign languages around the world. In the US and most of Canada, we use American Sign Language (ASL), while in England they use British Sign Language (BSL).
So while both the US and UK share a spoken language with English, our sign languages are quite different. And while the US and France have different spoken languages, our sign languages – ASL and LSF (Langue des Signes Française) – are quite similar as the head teacher at the first school for the Deaf in the US was French. Fascinating, right? :)
So Now You Know
So the next time you hear someone talking about how “sign language is universal,” you can gently correct them. There are more than a hundred different sign languages in the world, and American Sign Language is just one of them.
The holidays are a great time to teach your baby some fun new baby sign language! If you’d like to learn some baby sign language for the holidays, this video will help! You’ll learn how to sign CHRISTMAS, TREE, SANTA, LIGHT, REINDEER, ELF, GIFT, BELL and STAR in the following video tutorial.
My first daughter was 11 months old for her first Christmas. I had been using baby sign language with her for a few months at that point, and things had really taken off right as the holiday season began. One of her favorite signs at that time was the sign for LIGHT, and there are lights everywhere around the holidays. I remember she was signing it all. the. time. In fact, it was hard to get a photo of her where she wasn’t signing LIGHT that year!
Want to make Christmas special and memorable for you and your baby? Take advantage of this opportunity to work with your baby’s curiosity and introduce your baby to new words and signs. There are so many things to capture your baby’s attention at this time of year! You’ll see colorful decorations and twinkling lights just about everywhere you look.
Learn the signs for common Christmas items so you can share them with your little one.
How to Sign CHRISTMAS and Other Holiday Signs
This video will show you how to sign CHRISTMAS, TREE, SANTA, LIGHT, REINDEER, ELF, GIFT, BELL and STAR.
Instructions on How To Do The Signs
CHRISTMAS – Make a “C” handshape and trace an arch in the space in front of you. Twist your hand so your palm is facing you as you complete the arch. It’s like you’re showing the top of a holiday wreath.
TREE – Place your nondominant hand parallel to the floor, palm facing down. Then place the elbow of your dominant hand on the back of your hand, palm facing forward and fingers spread open. Twist your open hand back and forth a few times. It’s like the tree branches blowing in the wind.
SANTA – Make a “C” handshape with both hands and start with them under your chin with palms facing down. Then move both hands down in a curved so they end at your chest. It’s like you’re showing Santa’s big fluffy beard.
LIGHT – Touch all your fingers together and lift the back of your wrist up above your head. Open and close your fingers a few times. It’s like your fingers are the light rays shining down on you.
REINDEER – With your fingers spread open and your palms facing forward, tap your thumbs at your temples. It’s like you’re showing the reindeer’s antlers.
ELF – Make a “G” handshape (pointer finger and thumb extended) and place them at the top of your ears. Move them upwards and close your pointer fingers and thumbs together as you move them up. It’s like you’re tracing the shape of an elf’s pointy ears.
GIFT – Make an “X” handshape (pointer fingers bent) with both hands. Start with your hands at your chest and move them away from you. It’s like you’re giving a present to someone.
BELL – Make a “Q” handshape (pointer finger and thumb pointing down) and knock them against the open palm of your opposite hand. It’s like the clapper of a bell making it ring.
STAR – Lift both hands above your head with the pointer fingers extended. Brush your pointer fingers against each other as you alternately raise your hands up toward the sky. It’s like you’re pointing at all the stars in the sky.
Conclusion
For many of us, Christmas and the holidays is a time when lasting memories are made – both as children, and as parents. Baby sign language plays a wonderful part in my memories of both of my daughter’s early Christmas experience. I love that they were able to express their excitement about all the decorations, family & other special parts of the holiday. I hope you’ll make wonderful holiday memories with your little one this year too!
Tell me in the comments: What holiday sign are you most interested in teaching your little one?
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The most wonderful benefit of using baby sign language is seeing Rowan’s excitement at his ability to communicate with us about what he needs or wants, what he is seeing and thinking. It’s also exciting for us to have a little peek into Rowan’s world before he is able to express himself with spoken language. Birgitte and I are constantly thinking about what new signs to introduce. 
