I tried to teach my baby sign language, like a good 21st century mom. I got the baby sign books and was all over doing the signs for "eat" and "drink" and "more" at all the appropriate times. None of them took. Nada.
But, what I learned was that the concept of signing had sunk in, I just wasn't teaching her the right sings. Just like at 17 months she still won't say "yes" or "no", but she will frequently say "kitty cat", "Blue's Clues", and "chocolate," (That's my girl!) she has no need to sign "more" when a furtive pointing at what she wants and then pointing at her chest does just fine. Another favorite is extending her hands in front of her, wrists to chest, palms up, and wiggling fingers. This means "put said item in these hot little hands before someone gets hurt. My cry can break glass, you know." There was no sign in the books for this.
Her latest is as follows. First some background. She isn't terribly fond of the word "no." (which probably explains her complete boycott of voicing it). Although I can say "Greta, if you want some chocolate, it's in the drawer in the kitchen. Just use your stool and go get it." And she will return with a chocolate bar in hand, if I am typing on my laptop and she decides to turn on text to speech, the on-screen keyboard (did you know you had one? I didn't) or just hibernate the whole thing and I say "Greta, no." She glazes over. No Habla Ingles. I'm just a baby and can't possibly understand you. If I say it again, she'll then continue doing the action, but with more ferver. The implied thought here is "I know you can't possibly be telling me no, so I am going to continue doing this, with oomph, and give you a chance to correct your error." If I continue saying no (and admittedly, she has sometimes worn me down by this point) she then has no choice but to acknowledge it, which is where her new "sign" comes in: Spread fingers of left hand, tilt head downwards slightly, bring hand to face, contort face into pained expression, stifle cry. This would be the sign for: "The world is too horrible, too horrible for me to gaze upon. I have been wronged."
This also is not in the baby sign books.
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2 comments:
This cracked me up! She sounds like such a character. I can totally picture the "no" sign. Oh the drama!
I got a couple signing dvds from the library. They kind of intimidate me. All I know is eat and more. And my little man hasn't seemed to notice or take any interest. His needs are met; he's content.
My little man is just starting to really babble. My absolute favorite is "uh-uh." As in I tell him no, don't touch that "uh-uh" and he repeats, while touching again. Just this afternoon he was at the desk attacking the computer, the phone cord, and the mouse...the whole time saying "uh-uh" to himself. Something like..."uh-uh" *crash* goes the telephone. "uh-uh" *bam* the mouse hits the floor. "uh-uh" *boom* keyboard crunch.
I had to laugh. Bad move. He turned to me and grinned. *gulp*
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