Asking your little one about favourites can be a great conversation starter and introduces them to the idea of preferences, whether they like one thing better than an another.
Watch the video below for some examples of how you can do this easily in play or during routines.
Why ask children to make choices?
- Asking about favourites introduces children to the idea of preferences - which thing they like best out of a choice of things. This could be a toy, an animal, a snack鈥 anything really!
- Try listing the choices for them using their names and saying them very clearly - 'Which one's your favourite? The apple, the banana or the pear?'
- It can be a great conversation starter - if they name the thing they like best, you can add detail to show them how to say it in a fuller sentence. For example, if they say 'pear', you could reply 'oh, you like the pear - it's very sweet!'
- You could ask further questions about what they choose. So if they picked the elephant toy, you could ask 'what noise does an elephant make?'
More about how children express their likes and dislikes from an early age.
More about the benefits of building on babies' first words.
