Fun Times Shopping with Little Shirts

[HawaiianShirts]

Want to read a cute story?

My son just turned two years old. We've been using sign language with him since he was nine months, so he hasn't felt any rush to learn speech, but he's building a verbal vocabulary now. He's always been social, though, ever since he could make eye contact with anybody.

Mrs. Shirts and I stopped at Local Grocer on our way home from running some other errands tonight, just to get some fresh fruit. While I was perusing the produce, a Local Grocer employee came out of the stock room and walked down the same aisle. I casually acknowledged him with a smile and went back to looking at fruit.

Little Shirts, sitting in the cart, was bored and wanted some social interaction. Just as the employee was about to pass us, my son shouted, "BOO!"

The employee looked surprised but definitely not scared. He turned and, with a huge grin, responded with a happy "BOO!" of his own. Then he said, "That's funny," and skipped around the corner of the aisle.

When we reached the checkout, the same employee was cleaning one of the registers and collecting go-backs. He saw us coming and said to the cashier, "Watch out for this kid."

Right on cue, Little Shirts says, "BOO!" to the cashier. She played at being startled, and we all laughed at my son's fit of giggles.

On the way out the door, Little Shirts waved and said "Bye! Bye-bye!" to all the employees, and they (the first guy, the cashier, and a cart wrangler) responded in kind. Then Little Shirts turned to me and said, with surprising clarity and diction, "I say, 'boo.' Guys say, 'bye.'" And he giggled again.

I hope he was an effective antidote against any SCs those employees may have had to deal with today. That was fun.


PS: For those of you who enjoy internet memes, Little Shirts tells us he's hungry by the standard ASL signs, but he tells us that he wants to eat a specific food object (like the piece of apple I just handed to him) by saying, "I OMMM! Omm nom nom."

[Lyse]

Lately, in my house, we have taken to pointing to our mouths and meowing just like that cat in the Simon's Cat videos.

[Lovecats]

I've had little ones blow me kisses. That always makes my day!

[Shpepper]

Please keep up with the signing even as he learns to be more verbal. It will be a great skill for him to have as he grows up. Also, more deaf kids are being mainstreamed into schools and it is better for them to have a friend who can sign to them. THANK YOU !

[AnaKhouri]

Are the signs they use with babies the same as ASL? I thought they were a simplified version. But I don't really know for sure as we've never done it.

Khan is also 2 and heavily verbal (sometimes I wish he's just can it for a few minutes!) and he seems to have the same ability to charm store employees. They usually comment on his curly hair. Although he totally won over the local comic shop owner; the guy gave him a leftover Free Comic Book Day book, and Khan yelped, "Iron Man! Mighty Thor!" and plopped right down in front of the counter to look at it.

My favorite kid ever from working at the bookstore was a boy around 2; his grandma was paying and when she opened her wallet he saw a picture of himself inside. He said, "Why did you put me in there?"

His grandma said, "Because I like to look at you."

The boy frowned severely and said, "Well, don't do it again."

[bhskittykatt]

That's so cute! I'm sure that completely made the employees' day.

[XCashier]

Quoth Lovecats

I've had little ones blow me kisses. That always makes my day!

Yeah, it's so cute when little kids play coy and giggle at you. Or they'll babble baby talk at you and you pretend to answer them.

Baby: Bah bah BAAH!
Me: That's easy for you to say!
Mom & Dad:

Baby: Buh buh buh baaaah.
Me: Yeah, you said it!
Mom: So what'd he say?
Me: I don't know, but he definitely said it!
Mom:

[HawaiianShirts]

Quoth AnaKhouri

Are the signs they use with babies the same as ASL? I thought they were a simplified version.

Yep, it's actual ASL. The programs we've seen are, anyway. You start the kids with just basic signs, though, and leave out the grammar entirely. We used the "Baby Signing Time" videos, and then we used the signs ourselves in his presence. Just simple stuff like "milk," "juice," "sleep," "Mommy," "Daddy," signs for some animals, signs for typical toddler foods like crackers and bananas, that sort of thing. It works, and I think it helps build their language skills early on. I was amazed at how quickly (within weeks) he started responding to our signs, and then he started making the signs himself just before his first birthday.

XCashier, I talk that way to my son all the time. "And you really expect me to believe all that?" "That's what YOU think." It's fun, and he only knows I'm responding to him.

Shpepper, we will keep it up. He has an uncle who is nearly deaf, and Mrs. Shirts has some significant hearing problems herself. Little Shirts and I are both learning the new language.

[SongsOfDragons]

I like this idea. Does it exist for BSL too?

[PastryGal]

Quoth Lyse

Lately, in my house, we have taken to pointing to our mouths and meowing just like that cat in the Simon's Cat videos.

LOL My hubby and I do this too!! Usually when we want takeout.