sign of the times

You hear a lot these days about teaching babies sign language. There are countless books and classes out there all designed to help you communicate with your baby. Thanks to Grandma Linda teaching me some basic signs Abby was a baby who signed. It was great that she had the ability to tell me she wanted more or she was finished with her dinner or she was thirsty, for example, before she was capable of verbalizing it. Abby, for her part, loved to sign and we continued to sign with her long after she was capable of talking. Even now it's a great tool. For example, during choir practice I sit off to the side, but if necessary I can still communicate to Abby that I'd like her to stop talking.

Then along came Maya and I started signing fairly early on with her. Oh and Abby did too. It was so cute to see Abby trying to get Maya to stop touching her toys by signing "no, stop touching" over and over to her. So I signed and Abby signed and Maya watched us. And we signed some more and Maya watched some more. And on it went with no response from Maya. Then I started reading on other blogs that their kids (often younger than Maya) were signing up a storm. Well what the heck? Now it's not that she can't, I know she can. She will mirror other actions like clapping her hands and and playing peek a boo, so I know her motor skills can handle it. And yet she doesn't sign.

Today I figured it out..... she just doesn't want to sign. She has been watching me sign for the better part of a year without a shred of interest. When I sign to her she just sits there and looks at me with a big grin on her face that says, "I can do that, you know I can do that, but you know what? I ain't gonna do it."