Hi moms and dads!

This is a short post on how to get your little one to elaborate their stories and talk more about their day! The best way to encourage this is by asking ‘open-ended’ questions. While it is important to reduce the amount of questions you ask your child, (questions can create demand for answers and ultimately a sense of pressure for your child - I always recommend the 3:1 ratio, for every three comments you make, ask a question), asking open-ended questions as your child enters their pre-school years encourages them to use more vocabulary and develops thinking skills and problem solving. Open-ended questions are ones that require a response other than “yes” or “no”. So, instead of asking a question that will only elicit a “yes” or “no” response, ask a question that requires your child to use their thinking skills, and provide more complex answers.

So how can you do this?

Open-ended questions can be incorporated into reading time, by asking your child to describe what they see on the page, for example, “What is the man doing?”, “Where is the little girl hiding?”, “What colors do you see?”.
Similarly, when playing, ask your child, “What would you like to play/ make?”, “What is in your toy box?”, “Where is teddy going?”.
When out and about, (in the car or on a walk), ask your child, “What do you see?”, “Where is that noise coming from?”, “What’s on the lake?”.
If your child goes to day-care or to pre- school or spends a day with their nanny, ask them “What did you do today?”. It can be a good idea to ask your child’s teacher or nanny what they did that day so you can scaffold your child’s answer with prior knowledge, for example, “Did you go for a walk with Sarah or did you play with Mr. Potato head?”. Ensure to give your child plenty of time to answer, and remember, if you ask questions that only require a “yes” or “no” answer, you will only get a one-word response!

As always, I’d love to hear from you, so get in touch at hannah@elyhq.com. For more insights, go to www.elyhq.com and follow us on Instagram @earlylanguageyears

Wishing you all a very happy new year!