We live in a very competitive world. Parenting is no exception (in fact it might be one of the most competitive arenas) and as it turns out baby signing can bring out nastiness in people. I’ve witnessed this several times and usually from parents who mean well – however sad this tale is. Since parents want to do well for their children, upon hearing that your baby signs, some parents will find it necessary to point out reasons why you shouldn’t. When you set the record straight, and talk about all the benefits to signing, you’re usually left with one very confused parent. On the one hand, the parent wants to do well, but on the other they feel like they “can’t” sign with their baby. Some parents won’t sign just because they feel it to be too difficult or they feel like they might appear foolish in front of their baby or others.
At other times, it’s hard to pin down exactly why a parent won’t teach sign to their baby, but the result is all the same – a baby and parent who is missing out. You have a parent who is doing things in a way that is far more difficult than it needs to be. I’ve talked at lengths in this blog about why signing should be taught – and there are no shortage of reasons, however, there are some people that no matter how many ways you present the benefits to signing, they still won’t. I fear it has to do with pride and ego. Some parents just want to do it their way and aren’t confident enough to adopt someone else’s ways – even if it’s better than theirs. In a way, this is sad. True, these parents will get by, they might even raise exceptional children, but this isn’t the point. Why avoid a tool that is so valuable, so readily available, and so easy to implement? Because of ego?