To make conversations last longer, it’s a good idea to swap out some of your questions for comments. Making comments that are based on your child’s interest is one of the best ways to encourage them to communicate. Here’s how to do it! 

When does a child start an interaction? Learn how you can coach parents to narrow down the difference between their child’s actions and their child’s communication in an activity, so that the parent knows what to respond to.

When children participate in interactions that go back-and-forth many times, they have more opportunities to hear and practice language. Children learn the most from talking about their ideas, so let the child take the first turn to start an interesting conversation. Then, follow the child’s lead to keep the interaction going! Here are some fun ways to build back-and-forth conversations.

Studies show that back-and-forth interactions between an adult and a child actually change a child’s brain and lead to better language outcomes. In this video, The Hanen Centre’s Executive Director, Elaine Weitzman, talks about what the research says about the power of high-quality interactions, and describes the critical ingredients that make these interactions possible. In Part 2 of this video, we show you the difference Hanen strategies can make to help your interactions with young children blossom into beautiful conversations – where the best language learning takes place!

Silence in a conversation may feel empty, but it's not! In fact, there's so much happening while you wait for your child to take a turn, and these silent pauses are important for supporting your child's communication.

The sensations your child craves or avoids are called “sensory preferences”. When you recognize and work with your child’s sensory preferences, you can create situations that make it easier (and more fun!) for them to interact with you. A great way you can do this is with something called “people games”.