There are no set rules on the number of signs to demonstrate to your child, so this is a personal choice. You may feel comfortable using all 80 sign in this course, or it may suit you to use just a handful.

Most children seem to acquire and regularly use between 20 and 50 signs before speech takes over. However, those same children will understand all the signs that have been modeled. 

Every child is different and they learn and produce signs at their own pace. Your baby is processing language in their brain. That process takes time. Be patient—and keep signing.

Babies will learn the language they hear. That learning process begins while the baby is still in the womb listening to the parent's and caregiver's language tones and rhythm. Once born they clearly hear the family language and will speak it once their vocal mechanism matures and has the ability to make the various target language sounds. When gestural language is introduced along with spoken language, the baby will process and use those gestures to get what they want, tell you what they feel, what they are thinking about, etc. The design of the gestures is secondary to the idea that babies can communicate through gestures and signs much sooner in life than waiting for speech to be produced. Where the signs I use in my programs are unique is that many of the signs represent what they mean...that is they look like what they are supposed to convey, like the sign for EAT and DRINK, or they are directional like the HURT sign that is placed at the injury's location. No matter what language you speak, you can use the signs in my program and just say the words in your family's language that correlate with the signs in the 14 Day program. You will have communication for the year or so you use the signs. As your baby develops speech and drops the signs, your spoken language will be supported by your signing and you will be rewarded with a fun-filled experience that only comes once in your and your child's life. This early cultural imprinting time and discovery time for your baby is too precious a time to lose. Clear communication not only serves you but dramatically affects your child––reducing the level of frustration based on poor communication and expressive capacity and supporting their confidence by giving them a tool they can use to affect their environment and express themselves. Signs are also very effective in families where more than one language is spoken. The signs become the common denominator among all the languages the child hears...but they see the meanings to the words from the signs.