Baby Sign Language: Connor makes up his own sign

It was our afternoon drawing time together and I asked Connor "Would you like your crayons?" Big enthusiastic nod from my 18-month-old son. I got down the bag of crayons and offered it to him. He picked out one crayon and I did the same. We both sat down at his little table and he started making broad sweeps across the paper with his crayon.


He looked up at me enquiringly after that and I asked "What?" He said "Mummy!", then signed "Help" and followed that with the same broad sweeping movements he'd made earlier when drawing. It was very clear what he wanted. "Do you want Mummy to help you draw some things?" Connor beamed at me and nodded, very pleased that he'd managed to tell me what he wanted and that I understood him perfectly.


I was so happy that he'd made up his own sign on the spot to communicate with me. If you read the books on baby sign language, this is common among babies who have been exposed to it. They either make up their own or combine known signs to make up new words. One little boy signed "bird-horse" when he saw a flying unicorn in the toy store. Clever eh!

So relieved Connor's neurons are firing after all. And so happy that he can more or less "talk" to me.