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

“First Signs” 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.

You can begin introducing signs as early as you want (the earlier you do means more practice for you!), but studies show 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.

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