When your child is pre-verbal, they can use baby sign language (Makaton, ASL/American sign language or BSL /British sign language) to communicate that they need to go potty. Here’s how to introduce baby signing for potty learning.
Baby signing is a really helpful way to stimulate your child’s brain development and enhance their language skills from an early age. It’s particularly beneficial for multilingual families but some other benefits of baby signing are:
– Helping you to understand your baby’s needs
– Helping you and others to bond with your baby and build relationships
– Reducing frustration for you and your baby
Here are some signs that you can use:
Video includes: The Born Ready chest slap, Makaton, P for Potty, T for Toilet and the Poop sign.
Can I make my own sign?
Absolutely. Using signs to help your baby go potty is about choosing a method which both you and your child can understand. If you have noticed that your child already uses a hand gesture when they go potty, you can make up your own sign incorporating the association that they already have.
To learn more about understanding your baby’s signals and helping them to go potty, check out our Baby Pottying Guide.
Nurse Rebecca Mottram is an advocate for Baby Pottying and a potty training expert. She is the author of two books; The Baby Pottying Guide and Positively Potty, the host of the Go Potty Podcast and founder of the Little Bunny Bear shop. If you are trying to resolve a potty problem, you can explore Rebecca’s free resources, join her Facebook group or request a private consultation.
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[…] even if they are doing it non-verbally. if your child is non-verbal, you may want to help them learn some basic sign language around potty needs, so they can communicate this to others as […]