TinyStepper
Parent and toddler face-to-face, child pointing at a picture card

Comments Only Storytime

A reading game where you commit to making only statements — never questions — for the whole book. Removes the pressure that questions place on a child with disfluency.

Activity details

18m–4y10 minslowindoorPicture Books

Instructions

Get ready
  • Pick a familiar picture book — one with lots to look at on each page.
  • Sit close together in your usual reading spot.
  1. Pick a familiar picture book — one with lots to look at on each page.
  2. Sit close together in your usual reading spot.
  3. Open the book and read the first page. Then make a comment: 'I can see a big tree.'
  4. Pause. Wait. Don't ask anything.
  5. If your child responds, listen all the way to the end before you speak again.
  6. Whatever they say, comment back: 'Yes, the tree has lots of leaves.'
  7. Turn the page. Comment again: 'I see a little rabbit hiding behind the tree.'
  8. Read through the whole book this way. No questions at any point.

Parent tip

Set out picture books before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Parent and child sitting face-to-face laughing together in a warm shared moment

What success looks like

Back-and-forth between you — words, gestures, shared pretend. Connection is the real outcome here.

Pick a picture book and read it together with one rule: you only make statements, you never ask questions. Instead of 'What can you see on this page?', say 'I can see a duck on the pond.' Instead of 'What colour is the cat?', say 'The cat is grey and white.' Questions feel innocent, but for a child with disfluency they pile pressure on the moment of speech. Removing them lets your child speak when they want to, not because they're being asked.

Why it helps

The NHS guidance on stammering centres on building an environment where the child feels relaxed and confident about talking — and the single most question-pressured environment most toddlers experience is being read to by an adult. The Stuttering Foundation's parent advice puts the principle directly: children speak more freely when they are expressing their own ideas rather than answering an adult's questions. Switching to comment-only language removes the cognitive load that worsens early disfluency and turns reading into an invitation to talk rather than a quiz.

Variations

  • Try it with a wordless picture book so all the language is comments rather than reading.
  • Use a familiar book your child knows by heart — they will fill in the words you skip.
  • Bring it to the playground: comment-only narration of what you see at the swings.

Safety tips

  • Resist the urge to slip a question in 'just to check' your child is engaged — comments only means comments only.
  • Don't comment in a teacher-y voice that turns each statement into a covert quiz.
  • If your child asks you a question, answer it warmly — the rule is for you, not for them.

Want to try another?

Narration Without Questions

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