About this activity
Twelve situations engineered so that a child has a reason to communicate: hand over a closed jar of bubbles and wait; give a snack in a container they cannot open; start a fun activity, then stop suddenly; give the wrong item on purpose; give crayons but no paper; put a preferred toy in view but out of reach; pause a favourite song mid-chorus. Each one creates a gap that only communication closes, which is a very different thing from asking a child to say something.
How to use it in a session
The whole method is the waiting. Set up the temptation and then stop — look expectant, say nothing, and let the silence do the work, which will feel much longer than it is. Model on the device if the child does not initiate, then reset and try again rather than prompting the response. Give the wrong item on purpose is the most underused one here because it targets protesting and clarifying, which most programmes neglect in favour of requesting.
What to listen for
Count initiations, not responses. The whole point of a temptation is that nothing was asked, so a child who communicates has started something, and that is the behaviour worth recording. Watch the form too: a reach, a look to your face, a vocalisation and a symbol hit are all initiations, and the progression between them is the real data. Notice whether the child looks at you — joint attention is often the thing that appears first.
Carrying it home
Families do this naturally once they see it. Putting the cereal on a high shelf, handing over a closed container, forgetting the spoon — all of it creates a reason to communicate that a smoothly run house does not.
Questions
- Isn't this frustrating for the child?
- It is designed to create a small, resolvable gap, not a barrier. Give the item as soon as the child communicates in any form — the point is that communication works, not that the child has to work.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve setups are free to read and use.
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through fifth, and it is equally useful with pre-symbolic communicators where the target is any initiation at all.