Teaching Toddlers How To Ask Questions
Between the ages of two and three, toddlers typically begin to ask simple questions like “Who is it?” and “What’s that?”
Learning to ask questions is one way that toddlers gather information about the world around them, and it helps them engage in conversation for longer periods of time. Let’s look at some strategies you can use to help your toddler learn to ask simple questions.
Tips for teaching 2 year olds to ask questions
Tip 1 - Ask “Where’d it go?”
The first question we’ll practice is “Where’d it go?” Start by asking the question within the context of a fun game that can be easily repeated, such as playing hide and seek with objects. Hide an item, then ask, “Where’d it go?” and begin answering your question as you look for the hidden object. You can say, “Is it under the bed? No. Where’d it go?”
For now, continue asking the question and answering it. Your child needs some time to observe you and play along with your support. As you continue to practice, you may notice your child gesture with their arms as if asking a question, imitate your rising pitch, or begin to imitate the question itself.
Tip 2 - “Where’d it go?” — Again
Now we’ll flip the exercise to encourage your child to be the one asking “Where’d it go?” While engaged in the play routine you’ve established for “Where’d it go,” when you reach the point where your child knows you would usually ask the question, don’t say it yourself — instead, pause this time and wait to see if your child asks “Where’d it go?” If they do, continue on with your routine of uncovering the item. If they don’t ask the question, you can ask it for them. If you’re the one asking the question, always make sure to pause and wait to see if your child will imitate it. Just count to five in your head before you go on looking for the item.
The goal is for your child to begin by imitating the question before eventually starting to ask it on their own within the context of your play. Once your child learns to ask a question within this routine, start to practice asking “where” questions in other contexts, and see if your child will imitate.
Tip 3 - Who wants ___?
The next question to work on is “Who wants ...?” Practice this during pretend play with your child. For example, say you are pretending to serve juice to a few stuffed animals. You can ask, “Who wants juice?” One stuffed animal can respond, “I do,” and you can continue asking the question “Who wants juice?” over and over as each stuffed animal gets juice.
You can apply this strategy in any situation of your choosing. Your toddler’s progression with the skill should go like this:
First, you ask the question and your toddler listens.
Then you answer the question.
Next, you ask the question and wait for your toddler to repeat the question. Then you answer the question.
Finally, your toddler asks a question on their own, perhaps a new question that they have not heard before. You answer the question.
Download our PDF activities guide for teaching kids how to ask simple questions ↓
Speech Therapy At Home Activity For Asking Questions
Knocking on a Door
Materials:
A door that opens. You can use a real door in your home or you can use a door on a dollhouse/ toy farm/ etc.
Character toys that your child likes. Can be action figures, stuffed animals, anything that your child knows the name of.
Set-up:
Clear a space around a door in your home so that there is room on either side of the door for you, your child, and the stuffed animals.
What to do:
In this activity, you will be helping your child ask the question “who is it?” in a knock-knock game.
Start by sitting next to your child on one side of the door. Place the stuffed animal on the other side of the door with the door open enough that you can sneak your hand around and knock. Discreetly knock on the door, then say “who is it?” Open the door, see Bunny, become excited, and say “Bunny!” Repeat this a few times so that your child gets to hear the question-answer part several times.
Next, put another animal on the other side of the door. Make the knocking noise and wait 5 seconds for your child to say, “who is it?” If they say it, open the door, become excited, and say, “It’s Turtle!” If they don’t answer, knock again and wait.
If they don’t answer a third time, then complete the routine yourself by saying “who is it?”, opening the door, and answering the question while pointing at the stuffed animal. You may need to play this game for a while to help them learn to ask the question.
Once your child gets good at this game, you can each be on other sides of the door and practice asking and answering the question before the door is opened.
What to say:
When practicing with this activity at home, it might sound like this:
[knock knock, wait 5 seconds]
Child: Who is it?
You: [opens door] It’s Mr. Panda! Hi Mr. Panda!
[knock knock, wait 5 seconds]
Child: [says nothing or says something else]
You: [knock knock again, wait 5 seconds]
Child: [says nothing or says something else]
You: [knocks again] Who is it? [opens door] It’s Mr. Panda!
Download our PDF activities guide for teaching kids how to ask simple questions - this activity + 2 more! ↓
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Created In Collaboration By:
Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP
Stephanie Burgener-Vader, MA CCC-SLP
Melissa Sartori, MS CCC-SLP
Yvette Faire-Bostick, MS CCC-SLP
© 2020-2022. Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP. All Rights Reserved.
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