Bubbles

There’s a great line in the movie, “This is 40.” Paul Rudd’s character says, “I wish I liked anything as much as my kid likes bubbles.”

Mikey’s very first actual clear word…you know, when we knew that he was saying the word to ask for the thing…was bubbles.  He was starting preschool soon and we were so anxious for him to develop language.  Needless to say, he got bubbles whenever he asked! Come to think of it, he still gets bubbles whenever he asks for them all these years later.

If your child can’t blow the bubbles for themselves and they are asking for them all the time, consider an automatic bubble machine.  They are almost a workout for the kids because they produce so many bubbles to chase down and pop.

Requests

In the field of Verbal Behavior, your child’s therapists may call a request a “mand”. The best way to reinforce a request is to give the child what they’re asking for. At first, all the time, every time to make sure they understand that they have asked correctly for that item. Your child needs the message that the best way to get anything is to communicate their needs in whatever way they can.