My speech therapist advises Hanen inspired approaches which involve a lot of pregnant pauses to give your child the opportunity to speak, without ever pressuring them. My mother-in-law, however, won’t hand over biscuits without a credible attempt to request it politely.
A standoff. Subliminal calculation of grandmotherly intransigence versus grandmotherly generosity. Then she acquiesces. She really tries.
Then, with crumbs still spilling out of her mouth, she is back asking for another one. She doesn’t ask me – she knows I only pay in apple slices.
SALT for my Squid 