Games that involve pretend play can be a great way to get little ones to use their imagination. Ask them to tell you about the things they're pretending to do and what they’re thinking about.
Asking open questions using 'what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ can open up conversations with your child by getting them to give you more than just 'yes' or 'no' answers.
Watch the video below to see how you can get children to talk imaginatively about the sort of superhero they'd like to be.
How asking open questions can help your child’s language development
This helps them by:
- Encouraging them to respond with a sentence, rather than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
- Opening up the conversation, allowing both of you to continue chatting and taking turns to speak, while following their interests.
Asking open questions while playing superheroes gets children thinking imaginatively. Choosing what super powers they want to have, helps them to think and practise making choices.
Ask them simple questions like 'what superpower do you have?'. If they respond, build on what they say and ask more questions. For example, if they say 'fly' you could say 'you'd like to fly! How high can you fly?' and see if they respond further.
