Whenever you are spending time with your child, whether you are doing a craft together or taking a stroll around the park, do you ever stop and wonder what your kid might be thinking in that moment? We all do it, too. Children are use to giving us quick answers when we ask them “did you brush your teeth” or “can you please put up your toys?” But what if we begin asking them questions that are more thought provoking, maybe some that would require them to take a moment to think through their thoughts? We call these “engaging questions” and the purpose of asking these types of questions is to not only help them understand how they have to think before they respond, but to help them hear how their responses sound to the other person and to help improve their understanding in other people’s thought process as well. So, ready to hear an example of an engaging question?
“Why?”
Yes. We all know about THAT question. But let’s start thinking about how asking this question can actually benefit our children and make them start thinking about the reasons behind their thinking. You could also practice asking yourself a few engaging questions throughout the day to demonstrate to your child how they too can ask themselves these questions to help strengthen their thought process as they grow older.
For more examples of engaging questions, visit https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/5-engaging-questions-to-discover-your-childs-thinking
