Keep Them on Their Toes with the Sabotage Strategy

Did You Know?

Babies and toddlers laugh at the most unpredictable spontaneous things. Shrieks of joy and giggles happen when you make a silly face or bring out the bubbles. With your toddler you have probably already noticed they laugh when you do something funny like pretend to gobble them up or use a high-pitched voice. This shows their language and thinking skills have become more sophisticated. It also means they’re beginning to understand humor! Toddlers know when something is unexpected and they think that’s the funniest thing in the world! Now is the best time to capitalize on this interest and grow their listening and language skills! How can you take advantage of this silly, giggly time? With the LSL strategy of sabotage or Keep Them on Their Toes!

What Does it Look Like?

Sometimes called “communication temptations” or “environmental sabotage,” these techniques create opportunities for conversations with a twist. Begin with an unexpected surprise within a routine so your child can practice responding and questioning. You will see the wheels turn as they begin to understand the humor and smile or laugh! And you will find yourself having a fun conversation with your child! It's a little bit of trickery and a lot of exaggeration but it's fun and all for language learning.

“Keep Them On Their Toes” with Conversations in Reading Routines:

• Pick out a well-loved familiar book but mix it up! 
  • For example: Instead of “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish” switch it up! “One deer, two deer, red deer, blue deer.” See what your child says when they realize how silly you’re being by getting the words wrong! “Wait… that’s not right, is it? Silly me! FISH! Not deer!” 
• Change the main character in a book to your child’s name! Imagine how funny they think it will be to pretend to be someone else!
  • For example: “Brown bear brown bear what do you see? . . . I see ‘Rosy’ looking at me!” Wait for a response from them when they hear their name unexpectedly. Then say, “Rosy, Rosy what do you see? I see Daddy looking at me!” 

“Keep Them On Their Toes” with Conversations in Daily Routines:

• While getting dressed in the morning, mix it up with a mistake you make on purpose. 
  • For example: Pretend to put your toddler’s shoes on your feet. You could say “I’m going to get dressed, first I’ll put on my shoes . . .” See how they react and wait for them to tell you those are their shoes. Then use a silly voice to say “What? These aren’t mine? These shoes are yours?”
• Mix up mealtime with more creative silliness! Create a scenario where they’ll have to ask for what they need. 
  • For example: You can ‘forget’ to give your child their spoon for their yogurt and wait for them to notice and ask you. You can also try filling their cup with just a drop of water. If they don’t ask you for more water, you can prompt them with a silly question “Whaaaaat? You need waaaaater? Silly me! I only gave you a little, teeny drop!” 
• Shake up your snack time routine by pretending you need their help. 
  • For example: Act like you can’t open the snack package. Be dramatic, frown, puuuuullll on the bag, shake your head and say “I can’t get it open! Can you please help? You’re soooo much stronger than I am!” 

Big Bonus of “Keep Them On Their Toes”  

These silly scenarios create opportunities for your child to use their spoken language skills to verbalize problem solving, state what the issue is and what needs to happen. The ability to express their own thoughts and ideas are critical skills to becoming a collaborative problem solver. This sets them up for success in their friendships, at school, and in life!