The Baby Signs® Program: A Helpful Tool in Bilingual Settings
Editor’s Note, October 2026: This article was originally written by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, co-founders of the Baby Signs® Program and pioneers in the research on signing with hearing babies. We’re sharing it again because its central message continues to be relevant for families raising children with more than one language. Current guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics confirms that learning more than one language does not confuse children or cause language delays. The original article has been preserved below, with updated Baby Signs® resources added at the end.
As more and more parents learn the value of exposing their children to second and even third languages early in life, the number of babies being raised in “bilingual homes” is rapidly increasing. Just what does this mean? In many cases it means that one parent speaks one language to the child while the other parent speaks a second. In other cases, both parents may speak the same language to the child while a trusted caregiver (grandmother or nanny) speaks another. So, what happens if we add signing to the mix? Will it just add to the child’s confusion?
The answer is a strong and resounding “No!” The truth is that, no matter what form bilingual input takes, adding signing to the mix actually makes the child’s job easier, not harder. Here’s why.
When children first start learning about language, they quite naturally look for one-to-one correspondences between words and the objects (or actions) they label. For example, babies in an English-only environment, upon hearing the word “milk” in the presence of white stuff in their bottle, will eventually learn to associate the two together:
CHILD: “Hmmm….I get it! The white stuff in my bottle = ‘milk’“
However, life gets more complicated in a bilingual household. In this case babies consistently hear two words in association with the white stuff in their bottle, a situation which can be very confusing.
CHILD: “Hmmm….Sometimes I hear “milk,” sometimes “leche.” What’s going on?”
Clearly, what children hearing two languages need to figure out is that both words are equally important labels for milk. And that’s where signing comes to the rescue. By adding a sign to the mix so that the same visual symbol (sign) accompanies both words (“milk” and “leche”), parents make the job of connecting the object with the meanings of both words much easier for babies. In other words, when the baby hears “leche” paired with sign and then also hears “milk” paired with the sign, the pieces fall into place:
CHILD: “Aha! These words mean the same thing!"
What’s the bottom line? Rather than confusing your bilingual child, signs will help smooth the road to understanding and speaking both languages.
Baby Signs® Resources for Bilingual Families
Using signs in a bilingual home can be simple. Parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teachers can each continue speaking the language that feels most natural to them while pairing important spoken words with the same familiar sign.
For example, one caregiver might say MILK while another says leche, with both pairing the spoken word with the same sign. The child continues hearing and learning both spoken languages while also seeing a consistent visual cue connected to the concept.
Start with a few signs that are meaningful in your baby’s everyday life, such as MILK, MORE, EAT, BOOK, DOG, or ALL DONE. There’s no need to introduce a large vocabulary at once. Follow your baby’s interests and make signing part of the routines you already enjoy together.
Baby Signs® Quick Reference Guides are available in English, Spanish, and French and include 67 illustrated signs along with tips for introducing signing to babies and toddlers.
Related Reading
Supporting children in a multilingual early childhood setting? Read Using Infant Sign Language in Multilingual Classrooms for ideas about creating consistency between home and child care.
Drs Acredolo and Goodwyn
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D., are the doctor-moms who conducted the groundbreaking research on signing with babies that started a revolution in infant communication and inspired their best-selling book for parents, Baby Signs: How To Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk (now in its 3rd edition).
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