Utensils are often some of a baby’s most prized possessions. A spoon or a fork can be used in so many creative ways. Many babies delight in pounding on their high-chair trays or on the bottom of a pot with their spoons. Forks and spoons frequently make their way to the floor after being flung from baby’s hands. And of course, most young children love to eat and quickly associate eating utensils with the food that they provide. With several opportunities throughout the day to demonstrate these signs, your baby will probably be signing them before you know it.

The sign for FORK ( SEE DVD) resembles the act of spearing a piece of food.

• 1. Form the letter V with your first and middle fingers.

• 2. With the tips of those fingers, tap the palm of your other hand twice as if your fingers are the tines of a fork and your palm is a plate.

For the sake of demonstration, you could actually hold a piece of food in your hand, tapping it with the first two fingers of the other hand.

To help your baby grasp the concept of a fork, try exposing her to different kinds of forks. Appetizer forks, carving forks, salad forks, and dinner forks all have slightly different appearances and can be used to help your child learn that tines are what identify a fork. Of course, any kind of fork can be hazardous to a baby, so be sure to supervise closely while allowing her to handle a fork.

A spoon is probably the first eating utensil your baby will ever encounter, so she will be familiar with its shape early on. This familiarity will motivate her to want to demonstrate the sign.

• 1. Form the letter U with your index and middle fingers.

• 2. Curve those fingers slightly and use them to scoop imaginary food out of your other palm (as shown in Figure 11–4 ).

As with forks and bowls, try to expose your child to many different kinds of spoons, such as wooden spoons, slotted spoons, iced-tea spoons, and measuring spoons. Your baby will enjoy playing with the spoons and will gain a better understanding of both the object and the sign.