The Nappy Changing Song (Baby Sign Language – Week 5)

So we’re five weeks into our Sing and Sign lessons and we’ve covered a lot of baby signs but I’ve yet to share any songs we do. Sing and Sign often uses fun songs for different aspects of your baby’s routine. Incorporating songs can help:

• Your baby anticipate your actions (and make things like nappy changes and going home smoother)
• Both you and your baby learn the signs and improve your child’s language acquisition in general
• Increase the bond between you and your baby
• Make your day more fun!

Signs of the Week

This week, we are zooming in on a very familiar part of daily life: changing nappies! Whilst doing these signs can be difficult during a nappy change (AJ has just entered his wiggly stage and I do not have enough hands to keep him still on the mat!), I suggest signing “changing nappy” beforehand and “clean” afterwards. Though if you are up for a challenge, you can try sign along to the nappy changing song!

The Nappy Changing Song

AJ loves all the songs in class but it’s difficult for me to translate the lyrics into Cantonese on the fly like I do when our facilitator introduces standalone words or says short phrases. I do instead try to make up my own Cantonese versions once we are home.

This Nappy Changing Song is sang to the tune of Frere Jacques and uses the three signs above, plus an ad hoc bit of miming. It isn’t an exact translation to the English version we did in class but it uses language I was saying to AJ anyway so these lyrics felt more natural.

I know it’s a bit unfeasible to sing and sign along during a nappy change so I would advise prioritising the song. Remember our ultimate goal of sign language is to help our babies speak Cantonese and singing in the target language is just as (if not more) beneficial than signing.

If you would like me to translate more signing songs for your baby, then let me know in the comments. Finally, remember you can always look back on our previous signing lessons and our Quizlet deck. Happy Sunday and happy signing!