Watch this video on your own or with your child. In it, Elmo’s dad Louie demonstrates the strategy of reflecting. Reflecting is “saying what they say”—echoing and expanding on what your child is saying. This lets them know you hear them and you “get them”! And it all starts with following children’s lead.  

For instance, if your child points to a bird and says, “hi pretty bird!”, you might say “you noticed such a pretty bird on the branch, such pretty colors on its wings!” Or, if your child says, “I didn’t like it when he took my ball,” you might say “It made you feel upset when Zack took your ball. I can understand that!”

Reflecting goes beyond acknowledging (“right” or “I see.”). It’s also a great way to build language skills (for instance, if your child says “I ranned home”, you can say, “Wow, you ran home?”).

Because children are more likely to start conversations when they know their words will be reflected, reflecting is also great way to develop their growing language skills.

Parenting Moment: Reflecting

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