Day 68 3/26/08 Ba Bye now

Two month old babies can’t wave or say goodbye. Babies at 5 months of age usually can’t wave or say goodbye, so why do we expect them to? Rather, why do their parents expect them to be able to wave and talk at premature ages? Have you ever been leaving a friend’s house or a gathering and as you walk out the door the parent takes their child’s limp hand in an attempt for make the baby wave goodbye to you? Have you been leaving and the parents hold their child in front of them puppetering their non-verbal child to say “ba bye?” I used to think this behavior was cute, now it scares me. For one, the baby is obviously disconnected to the exchange; only have recently discovered that they have a hand to wave. Secondly, it puts awkward pressure on the person leaving to reciprocate a noncommittal wave or baby talk good bye. Admittedly, I’ve done it myself with my niece and nephew, but why? Does it somehow reinforce a connection to the person leaving? Or does it force a connection to that person? Isn’t it just awkward? I mean, in retrospect, I’d rather see the child wave or say “ba bye” when they are able to do it on there own without a commandeering parent. It’s sweet in theory, but creepy in practice. So the verdict is in, this is one offense I don’t plan on re-committing.