First Signs Board Book - Everyday Words

As babies and toddlers, children understand hundreds of words and concepts before they can communicate verbally. Teaching basic signs to children benefits both them, and their parents, by providing a means of communication before and during speech development.

First Signs – Everyday Words gets you started with key signs to help you communicate with your little one, easing frustration (for everyone!) by giving them a means to express their wants and needs.

First Signs – Everyday Words contains 13 New Zealand Sign Language signs with details and illustrations on how to do them.

Written and illustrated by Jenna Brockett

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- Product dimensions: 16 x 16 x 2 cm
- Format: Board book
- Number of pages: 15
- Author & Illustrator: Jenna Brockett
Recommended Age

0 Year More about First Signs - Everyday Words from the author

You can begin introducing signs as early as you want, but studies show that babies as young as six months old can remember and recognise a sign. By eight months, some children are able to imitate gestures or communicate using simple one-word signs.

Keep eye contact as you sign and say the word out loud, using the sign in direct context-sign dog when you see a dog in real life or in a book, and repeat the sign every time you see the animal.

It’s very likely that your child will invent their own signs or use variations of a sign you use. If they do, that’s fine. Keep using the ‘official’ sign and let them do their sign.

Using sign language as a pre-verbal aid is all about the joy of communicating, not about them ‘getting it right’.