90 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: What’s the weirdest “unwritten rule” everyone just follows?
Little fun fact: people don't clap naturally. It's a learned behavior. I didn't know this until like a month ago when I looked up baby milestones. Babies are supposed to learn to clap and point by 12 months, something they learn from parents. I'm rushing to teach my kid because for some reason clapping/pointing is something I never really did with him. I've always said "yay" and done a little shakey hand motion thing up by my head or tapped two fingers aganist an object/tilted my head in direction I want him to look instead of pointing (I was taught pointing is rude). He mimics my motions but will be counted as "delayed" if he doesn't do the stereotypical gestures.
Comment by confusedandunamuzed at 03/12/2024 at 07:17 UTC
39 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Interesting. I wonder, if you don’t teach them and enough time passes, will it eventually feel a little unnatural? For context, my dad didn’t really clap (come to think of it I’ve never seen him clap). Instead he would cheer and kinda wave his arms and open and close his hands real fast at me in excitement). Obviously as an adult I know to clap when appropriate, but it isn’t my default. If I’m excited celebrating something, my first instinct is always to do the little hand thing. I wonder what it would’ve been if no one had taught me anything
Comment by Ootsdogg at 03/12/2024 at 15:22 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Don’t worry about it. If he meets other milestones he can skip over clapping. Only with significant delays in several domains would I worry. Teach him something you both enjoy!