Following our consultant's advice, I have been starting conversations with Bright Eyes at bedtime. Today, our exchanges went like this.

Me: Today I went for a walk. I walked all the way to M's house. I had to go over the bridge. I actually walked on the road part of the bridge.

Him: You'll get run over.

Me: Yes, but I didn't. 

Him: Why not?

Me: Because I walked behind the cars and the roadworkers had the stop signs and they stopped the traffic for me.

Him: Guess what mum? The whole Happiness through Helping school (ie. his school) went for a lovely walk on the bridge.

Me: Oh really. When was that?

Him: Oh, about, about a year ago.

Me: That would have been fun. Hey, what was something that you saw today?

Him: Um, I'm not really sure.

Me: What did you see? Anything... something you saw.

Him: (thinking) I saw kids playing. (then thinking of something new) Oh, only kinder and year one and year two are allowed in the sandpit.

Me: Really? Why's that?

Him: There are too many arguments.

Me: Oh, that's not good. Was that today?

Him: Yes.

Me: Who said that?

Him: the principal.

 

I liked that as he thought about what he was going to say, something newsworthy occurred to him to tell me. I should probably have asked fewer yes/no closed type questions. But we had two reasonable exchanges, albeit with quite a few breaks and gaps. You should read the above with a lot of spaces between lines.