The Baby Signs® Program and Early Head Start: Supporting Early Communication Every Day
Communication begins long before babies say their first words. Through gestures, facial expressions, sounds and body movements, infants and toddlers are constantly communicating their needs, interests and emotions.
For Early Head Start programs, recognizing and responding to these early communication attempts is an important part of supporting healthy development and building strong relationships with families.
The research-based Baby Signs® Program gives babies and toddlers another way to communicate before they can talk, while providing parents, caregivers and early childhood professionals with practical tools they can use throughout the day.
Why Early Communication Matters
Early Head Start programs play an important role in supporting infants, toddlers and their families through responsive caregiving, early learning experiences and family engagement.
Long before children can express themselves clearly with words, they understand much of what happens around them. They recognize familiar routines, have preferences, experience emotions and want to share their discoveries with others.
The Baby Signs® Program helps bridge the gap between what babies understand and what they can communicate verbally.
By introducing simple signs alongside spoken words, caregivers give babies additional opportunities to express their needs, make choices and participate in everyday interactions.
This approach complements Early Head Start's emphasis on responsive relationships and family engagement.
Bringing Signs Into Everyday Routines
One of the greatest advantages of the Baby Signs® Program is that it fits naturally into activities already happening throughout the day.
Mealtimes: Signs such as MORE, EAT, MILK and ALL DONE give babies additional ways to express their needs and preferences.
Playtime and Early Literacy: Signs for familiar objects and activities, such as BOOK, BALL and MORE, encourage interaction during play, songs and storytime.
Transitions and Daily Routines: Signs such as HELP, OUTSIDE and ALL DONE can help children participate in familiar routines and communicate their needs.
These everyday interactions also create opportunities to strengthen communication between home and Early Head Start programs.
When parents, teachers and home visitors model familiar signs consistently, children have more opportunities to practice communication across different settings.
For example, a baby who learns the sign for MORE during mealtime at home may recognize and begin using that same sign at their Early Head Start center.
The goal isn't to teach babies as many signs as possible. It's to make communication a natural, enjoyable part of everyday experiences.
For more practical ideas, explore our article, Back to Child Care: Baby Signs® That Make Daily Routines Easier(opens in new tab)
What Does the Research Tell Us?
Research involving families enrolled in an Early Head Start program offers valuable insight into how signing may support early communication and parent-child relationships.
In a 2012 study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, researcher Dr. Claire Vallotton examined an infant-sign intervention involving 29 young children and their families.
Over seven months, researchers compared families participating in the signing intervention with a comparison group.
The findings showed that:
-
Children and mothers in the signing group used more symbolic gestures.
-
Mothers in the signing group were more responsive to their children's distress cues and more attentive to changes in their emotions.
-
Mothers participating in the intervention viewed their children more positively and experienced reductions in parenting-related stress.
Although the study was relatively small and evaluated an infant-sign intervention rather than the complete Baby Signs® curriculum, its findings suggest that signing can offer benefits beyond early communication, particularly in supporting responsive parent-child interactions.
Explore the research: Infant Signs as Intervention? Promoting Symbolic Gestures for Preverbal Children in Low-Income Families Supports Responsive Parent-Child Relationships(opens in new tab)
For additional studies, visit our Baby Signs® Benefits and Research(opens in new tab) page.
Bringing Baby Signs® Training to Your Early Head Start Program
Whether your organization wants to introduce signing to its staff, incorporate signs into infant and toddler classrooms, or prepare team members to teach Baby Signs® classes, we offer several training options:
-
Workshop for Professionals(opens in new tab): A two-hour workshop introducing professionals to the research and practical application of the Baby Signs® Program.
-
Center Certification / Early Childhood Educator Training(opens in new tab): A three-hour training program that helps infant and toddler teachers incorporate signs into everyday classroom routines. Organizations can choose instructor-led training or use our reusable Center Certification Program to train staff in-house.
-
Instructor Certification(opens in new tab): For organizations interested in preparing staff members to teach Baby Signs® classes and workshops to families and professionals.
Our training options are designed to help organizations incorporate the Baby Signs® Program into their existing early childhood and family support services
See how we're supporting organizations in action! Read about our recent Baby Signs® training in Oregon(opens in new tab), where professionals from family-serving agencies came together to learn practical strategies for supporting early communication.
Helping Babies Communicate, One Sign at a Time
Every time a caregiver recognizes and responds to a baby's attempt to communicate, there's an opportunity to build understanding and connection.
For Early Head Start programs, the Baby Signs® Program offers practical tools that complement the responsive caregiving and family engagement already central to their work.
Interested in bringing Baby Signs® to your organization?
Explore our training options(opens in new tab) or contact us to discuss how we can support your Early Head Start program.
