Have you ever asked your small child a question and quickly followed it up with an answer because you felt like he/she wasn’t following? A lesson I’ve learned recently is to give your child some time to respond…
We spent the day at the zoo and my two year old said “zoo” a few times, so I now know she comprehends the facility has a name. Hooray!
After being home a few hours, I asked her if she remembered what we did. Her initial response was “horsey. moo.” I stared at her wondering where she even would have seen a horse or a cow for that response to have fit, but I was lost. Moments later she spits out “zoooooo”. And, I was thankful I didn’t answer it for her to remind her … apparently she didn’t need reminding, she just needed the right amount of time to come up with the answer.
A few minutes later, her daddy came home and I was telling her that she needed to go and tell him what she did today. Wisely, she waited for him to walk into the room and immediately said “zoooo.”
So, the moral of the story is, if you want an answer to something, give your child a moment or two to respond. Apparently, those little gears are working and they may just surprise you when they speak up just as you’re thinking they didn’t really understand the question.
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