We all know that following routines for the day can be very helpful for your child to predict, plan and communicate more effectively. Finding opportunities to talk with your child is crucial for his language development. Be it the morning rush hour of getting dressed for school or the winding down calm at bedtime, every part of your child’s routine gives you plenty of opportunities to connect with him.
Little did you know that even bedtime can be a great window to peep into your child’s inner world. It can serve as a perfect moment to foster creative expressive language and help in retrieval of information.
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Include these regular steps to your bedtime routine with the kids:
- Cleaning up the toy room
- Changing into pyjamas
- Brushing teeth
- Read a bedtime story/Narrate a bedtime story
- Turn on Sleepy Music/Lullaby
- Switch off the lights
- Bedtime talk
Bedtime talk can be the most wonderful time of your child’s day. So snuggle up and get cosy in the bed. You can also massage your child’s arms/legs and get talking. Ask simple questions about your child’s day. You must first answer those questions yourself and initiate turn taking.
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The top 3 questions that can really help your child express himself :
1 What made you happy today?
2 What made you sad/upset today?
3 What did you learn today?
These questions are basically simple conversation starter tools that all parents can use to work on skills like sentence formation, starting and maintaining conversations, speaking meaningfully and using already learnt vocabulary.
Some parents find it tricky to answer “what they learnt today”. Here are some ideas:
▪ I learnt to make a nice recipe today
▪ I learnt a new word today
▪ I learnt to parallel park my car today
▪ I learnt that there are 10 planets in the universe
▪ I learnt a new yoga pose today etc.
Follow this bedtime talk as a ROUTINE. So ask these questions every night after the lights are out. You will find that after a few nights, your child will remind you of the questions if you forget these by mistake!
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Some other ideas for questions can be:
▪ What made you angry today?
▪ How many times did you smile today?
▪ What was your favourite part of the day?
▪ What do you want to eat tomorrow?
▪ What do you want to dream tonight?
For younger children who might find it hard to understand open-ended questions, you can break down and ask very simple closed questions like –
▪ Are you happy? ( expect a yes/no)
▪ Do you want Teddy to sleep with you?
▪ Which lullaby should mummy sing for you?
▪ Where is Daddy sleeping?
▪ Do you want new pyjamas?
▪ Can you show me how we yawn?
▪ Can you kiss me goodnight?
Bedtime talk can be very useful for children with speech-language delays and conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder/ADHD too. Remember to keep your language simple yet creative at the same time. Do not keep repeating your questions. Give wait time or pause well before you answer the questions or break the answer down for your child.
Neha Savla
Parul Gupta
Mansi Zaveri
KSP Team
