Imagine how many times your baby has ever cried, and you just pick her and breastfeed her without knowing what’s wrong with her? It happens that anytime your baby cries, you just guess what may be wrong with her without knowing the actual cause. With these baby sign language books, there will be no guess work again as you have to teach your baby the signs such that she will be able to communicate with you in case she needs any assistance.
Instead of running to the internet every time to look for baby signs, these books offer an easy guide on which signs to start teaching your child. It also gives you tips to remember such that you don’t have to memorize everything.
Here’s a guide of the best baby sign language book available in the market and how to choose the best that will suit your baby.
The Top Baby Sign Language Books Reviews
1. Baby sign language made easy
Do you know all babies use gestures at first to communicate before they learn how to talk? From lifting arms to be lifted, pointing and even clapping in excitement. But there are those Instances where the baby is communicating to you and you are there stranded wondering what the baby is saying. Baby sign language made easy, will make your communication much easier.
With a total of 101 signs illustrated in Australian sign language, your baby will be able to learn different sign languages that suits different ages and developmental milestones. You will also be able to know when and how to use certain sign languages, how to identify the baby’s response and also memory tips.
Another great feature of this book is that it has chapters organized by themes such as mealtimes and manners, family and feelings, bath time and bedtime plus many more. To make it more fun for you and your little baby, there are songs that incorporate the signs you have just learnt.
Pros
- Has 101 signs illustrated in Australian sign language.
- Gives your child confidence to express her emotions.
- You can easily locate the chapters you can start with.
- It has 10 quick-start signs to get your baby use signs right away.
Cons
- Users complained that it was written in Australian sign language instead of British sign language.
2. Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language
Before babies learn how to talk, they have lots of things to say. Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language, will be a good guide as it is recommended for the introduction of sign language. With a total of 13 signs, it will help your baby learn the basic signs before teaching him other complicated signs.
You see, most babies don’t cry because they really have a problem, but because they are feeling frustrated as you can’t understand what they are communicating to you. And that’s why we recommend signs book for babies to reduce tantrums and learn to talk much easily.
To make it easy for you, each page has a picture and a short description of how to correctly use the sign. The 13 words highlighted in this book are milk, water, more, all done, diaper, dog, cat, it hurts, help me, mommy, daddy, book and sleepy. These are the most basic words that a baby tries to communicate most of the time and that’s why it will be the best book for a beginner.
Pros
- Perfect for kids between 2-3 years but can also be used by younger babies.
- Best for a beginner.
Cons
- Has only 13 signs (although very useful) so you will definitely need another book with more signs.
3. My First Signs: American Sign Language
Being an Australian sign language edition, your baby will be able to communicate using signs before developing their speech. From as young as seven months, you can teach your baby using this book such that he/she will be able to express her emotions without tantrums.
With over 40 key signs, you will be able to teach your baby all the basic she will need to express herself. For beginners, a useful tip is given at the bottom of each page to help you get started. To enable your baby understand, most of the pictures has a child holding a toy or bathtub to help clarify the idea. Facial expressions and the use of standard American sign language hand signs will also help your baby in learning.
This book is not only perfect for babies learning to talk, but also good for babies who are deaf. It can also be used by parents who have children with hearing impairments such that they will be able to communicate to them.
Pros
- Has 43 basic signs.
- Can be used by deaf babies.
- Has a tip at the bottom of each page for beginners to get started.
Cons
- Its large, therefore cannot fit in your purse but comfortable for kids to hold.
4. American Sign Language Flash Cards
In a case where you don’t want to purchase books, this is a great deal to consider. Learning with flash cards increases concentration and improves recall. It’s one of the best ways to study successfully as flash cards are a great supplement to study lessons and worksheets. With a set of 105 flash cards, this will be an excellent way to teach your kids new skills. Each flash card has a rounded corner for fast and easy flipping.
Another great advantage of American Sign Language Flash Cards is that it can be used by all ages as it helps learners to maximize their learning. It also helps kids develop social skills and decision making.
This set has many topics including alphabets, animals, numbers 1-20, feelings, food eating, verbs, everyday words, people and everyday objects and is recommended for kids from 4 months and above.
Pros
- It has many signs including alphabet, numbers, animals and many more.
- Can be used by all ages.
- The pictures are clear.
Cons
- Might be more advanced for beginners.
5. Sign Language: My First 100 Words
Those hectic guesses of what your baby wants to communicate will be a past thing now after purchasing Sign Language: My First 100 Words. This book will help you teach your baby on day to day categories like food, colors, classroom, animals and many more.
With 100 words, all the basic word that your baby uses daily has been well explained using signs. As a bonus, you will also get a full-size poster of the ASL alphabet which can be hanged on the wall of your home or classroom for a quick reference when building sentences.
For beginners, illustrations are included with great content and the pictures are colorful such that your kid will enjoy more.
Pros
- Has 100 words.
- Illustration are included to guide beginners.
- Comes with a post-size alphabet poster for quick reference.
Cons
- For non-verbal kids, it might not be the best as it doesn’t cover everything.
When to Teach Your Baby Sign Language
The recommended age of starting to teach your baby sign language is usually 6-8 months, but we cannot strictly adhere to this age as kids have different milestones. There are kids who can start using gestures as early as 4 months while others can start much later. What I want to imply is that in most cases it will determine on how fast your kid is responding.
You can start teaching him/her as soon when she starts gesturing like lifting his hands when he wants to be picked up, or when you realize he is paying attention to your hands. In this case he will be able to learn fast as you will be able to capture his attention with your signs.
How to Teach Your Baby Sign Language
In most cases, this will be the hardest task as you know babies can not concentrate on one thing for long. You will have to be creative and even the books available should be able to capture the baby’s attention. And that’s why we recommend sign language books with colorful pictures for the baby to enjoy. When teaching your baby to use sign language, you can try these tips for you to get fruitful results.
Begin with few basic signs: there are those words that a baby should know as they will apply on his day to day life. Some of these words include milk, eat, drink, sleep and others. You should also not teach many signs at a go. You can start with three words before you teach the others.
Consistency: you wouldn’t expect your baby to understand a sign after one day of teaching. You have to keep on reminding him even if its for a couple of weeks before the child masters it. Anytime you get a chance during the day, always remind him of the sign that you taught him, for him to remember it.
What to Look for When Buying A Sign Language Book For Your Baby
Before purchasing a book, there are some factors you ought to consider for you to end up with the right book that will help you.
Age of the child
Most of these baby sign language books are not to be used by any child. The age of the baby should be considered as some books can be used by beginners while others are advanced such that it can be difficult for little babies to understand. If your baby is still young, consider the books with basic sign words such that as they grow you can advance to other books with more words. The basic words to consider include sleep, eat, pain, milk and many more.
Number of signs
Even after confirming that the basic words are described in the book, you wouldn’t want to purchase another book almost immediately. And that’s why you should always consider a book with more signs such that even after teaching your baby the basic signs, you can also teach her more advanced signs later without having to purchase another book.
Illustration
For beginners, it can be a really hard task to teach your baby some signs and you yourself don’t know any. That’s why we highly recommend books with illustrations that will guide you on how to teach your baby and when. The photos should also be clear and colorful for the baby to enjoy.
Format
I noticed that most users complained of getting the book that they didn’t necessarily want. This is because some signs usually differ depending on the format used. Some books are in British sign language others in Australian/American sign language. Always purchase what will not confuse you or your baby.
Wrap Up
As a caring parent, all we want is to avoid those tantrums that your baby throws when in need of something but you as a parent doesn’t understand. Those diaper changes will never stress your baby again as she will always alert you when wet.
After doing a thorough research on best baby sign language books, I can highly recommend Baby sign language made easy as it will guide your baby and also enable you teach your baby the basic signs. Teaching your baby sign language helps her express herself and also makes her talk early compared to babies who didn’t learn sign language.
Always know that whatever sign book you decide to buy will help you in a great way without regrets as long as you have adhered to our factors above.