Decreasing questions

A common pattern that caregivers fall into is asking too many questions.

When modelling language it is important to avoid asking too many questions. Here are some tips to consider when asking questions:

• Decrease the number of questions as asking too many questions can put pressure on your child
• Avoid questions to test your child’s knowledge
• Ask your child one question at a time and give them enough time to respond (waiting at least 10 seconds)
• Avoid questions that answer themselves
• Avoid questions that are unrelated to your child’s interests
• If your child looks like they are unsure of the answer and you have waited long enough for them to respond, model the correct answer
• Balance questions with comments, ideally make more comments than questions

Questions can be simplified by:

• repeating the question slowly and pausing before key words for emphasis
  • e.g. – “What is the [pause] bear doing?”
• rephrasing the question
  • e.g. – “Tell me what the bear is doing.”
• breaking the question up into parts
  • e.g. – “What am I doing [move your arms and hips to indicate dancing]?” … “What is the bear doing?”
• giving your child two possible answers to choose from
  • e.g. – “Is the bear dancing or sitting down?”
• starting the sentence for your child to finish
  • e.g. – “Then the bear started to …?”

Let’s watch…

Let’s break it down…

Let’s watch…

Let’s break it down…

Let’s watch…

At home:

• What kinds of questions do you ask your child?
• What questions does your child respond best to?
• Do you find yourself asking your child too many questions?
• What could you do to model language instead of asking a question?