Welcome to our reflections lesson
- In this section, you will learn
- What a reflection is
- Why reflections are important
- How to use reflections to improve behaviors
Reflections overview
What is a Reflection?
- Repeating the appropriate things your child says
- Repeating the exact words your child says
- Saying the basic gist of what your child says, but with different words
- Copying your child’s sounds, like "Ta da!" "Hmm" or "Choo-choo"
Reflections help your child feel heard.
What do reflections sound like?
Child: “Ok. You take the red and purple markers and I’ll take the blue and green ones.”
- Parent: “Ok. I’m taking the red and purple and you’re taking the blue and green markers.”
Child: “These stupid blocks won’t stick together.”
- Parent: “Oh, man! Those blocks are SUPER hard to put together.”
Child: “Let’s play with the Potato Heads.”
- Parent: “Oh, you want to play with Mr. Potato Head. I love those!"
Reflect live in action
Why is it important to use reflections?
Click below to read more:
You validate your child’s emotions when you reflect what they say. After that, children can usually cope better with their emotions.
For example, imagine your child comes to you very upset and crying. Reflect their main points rather than asking for details. Maybe start with “Something happened!” if you can’t understand what they’re saying.
Reflecting what children say lets them hear their words all over again. This helps them make more sense of their speech.
Children often need help with pronunciation or grammar. You can use reflections to show them the right way to say what they tried to say without saying “you’re wrong.”
For example, imagine your young child says “Ba” while pointing to a ball. You can reflect by saying “Ball. You want the ball.”
Imagine your older child says, “The one I wanted was tooken.” You can reflect by saying, “Your favorite was already taken.”
When and how should I reflect?
Learn how reflections can be used by selecting a difficult behavior below.
More: Learn how reflections can be used by selecting a positive goal below.
Pay attention to your words
Click below to read more:
Caregiver Voices
Other caregivers share about using reflections with their children:
Reflecting means “repeating what I heard from him to let him know, ‘hey, honey, I listened to you, I heard you, and you meant to say this.”
“I learned how to talk to him in a way that he can understand and made him feel like he was being heard[…] Through that play we were able to build a language, communication, trust, and a secure attachment.”
How would you reflect?
Question #1
Your child often screams and demands what they want. Today, they ask you “Can we go see a movie tomorrow?” How would you reflect?
Question #2
Your child is playing with a stuffed animal. They shake it and growl, “Grrrr… Grrr….” How would you reflect?
Question #3
Your child has always gone to school cheerfully. Today, they tell you, “I don’t want to go to school tomorrow. I hate school.” How would you reflect?
Ideas for fun Reflection activities
Select Below
2-5 minutes
Think of call and response chants from camp and military movies. Take turns with your child leading and responding to made-up chants (e.g., “I don’t know but I’ve been told” – repeat – “This family’s worth its weight in gold” – repeat).
My plan for reflections
Think about how you can use reflections at home.
Hooray! You've learned a new skill: Reflect
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