Do you ever feel like you are trying to be such a strong language model for your child that you’re the one doing all the talking?
Food for thought: How often do you actually require a response from your child?
It is so easy to fill in the blanks for kids. We do it all the time and don’t even realize we are doing it. I still do this occasionally and I've been trained professionally to do differently! So, if you are giving this a go for the first time, be gentle with yourself. It is an ongoing process.
If a child doesn’t respond right away, we as parents or adults seem to feel compelled to ask them another question, repeat the question again, or respond for them. Can you relate to this?
Here’s a simple trick that can change that and get kids talking.
Ready for it? PAUSE and WAIT
After asking a question, embrace the silence! Try counting to 5 in your head if you feel awkward just sitting there. Kids need time to process the question before they can respond. Their processing speed is not as fast as adults yet, so they really need that extra time for their brain to recognize what was being asked, formulate a response and then verbalize an answer. When asked several questions at a time, a child may still be getting ready to give you an answer to the first question when you have mentally (or vocally) moved on.
There are so many benefits to allowing extra response time!
Allowing children the time and space to answer their own questions is a huge confidence boost for them.
It sends the message that their words matter. (And they absolutely do!)
Pausing gives kids the time to process and begin to organize their responses.
It strengthens speech and language skills! By answering their own questions, they have opportunities to practice staying on topic, using new vocabulary, formulating sentences and practicing correct word order to name a few.
Does this feel like something you naturally do? Or is a big conversational shift in your household about to go down?
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