Family time. I recall making it out the big city for dinner with the relatives. No doubt signing comes up, how can it not, with the little fellow doing all sorts of “random” and “weird” movements with his arms a such. So naturally we explain that we are teaching him to do sign language. There’s always a bit of a pause and then a, “Oh that’s neat, I heard about that” and then there’s the “Well won’t that mean he will speak later.” Dealing with the misconceptions first of course, we can talk about what a wonderful and expressive dialogue we have with our little guy.
But just then doesn’t he experience a bit of “stage fright” where pulling out 5 of over 70 is like pulling slivers from beneath his skin! Of course, we worry that we’ll be made to look like fools, but I insist that we have it all on video, which we do, but neglect to remember that we actually have it stored on our little digital camera. Never mind, let’s squeeze out a couple. And we do, although they aren’t his best work and we still look like fools! A bit of jealousy maybe, like “Oh, we don’t believe you, the signs aren’t clear and they all sort of look the same.” Well what did you expect, the kids only 14 months old for gosh sakes! So be warned, trying to show off when your baby has a vocabulary bigger than 99 percent of the rest of them his age, isn’t as easy as it sounds. Advice to you, especially if you have a shy baby, make a video and show them that instead!