My Favorite is ….

Yesterday Jackee Swartz added a comment that reminded me of an easy trick to engage children in conversation. It’s talking about favorites — a great non-judgmental conversation. Jackee shared that her grandchildren, Niv and Itai, survey their family inquiring about their favorites. They’ll make a list and kind of poll them on whose favorite ice cream is vanilla and whose is chocolate. Then they’ll see which is the winner — chocolate or vanilla! They could do it with their younger cousin Eden by using stickers on the items being surveyed so she can get in the act. Jackee said they did it at a family picnic and it was fun for everyone and led to lots of conversation.

I like to talk about favorites, too. If you’re a long distant relative and have frequent phone conversations with a child, talking about favorites might make it easier to engage them in a fun discussion. Here’s an example. “I was wondering … what’s your favorite color? Mine is ____.” Or, try these … “What was your favorite movie this summer? What’s your favorite candy, ice cream flavor, fruit, vegetable,” etc., etc. Or, if you want to learn more about school, in addition to asking “How was school today?” you can ask … “What was your favorite class today? Who’s your favorite teacher? What’s your favorite lunch?” … Well, you get it, right? Thanks, Jackee!