Tips For Answering Questions

•There are no “perfect” answers – it’s impossible to prepare for every question

•Consider age, stage and level of understanding when answering questions

•Honesty is the best policy, don’t make things up. It’s okay to say you don’t know – you can find the answer out together or get back to them once you’ve found the information yourself

•A good place to start is by asking what they know already: remember children get information from other places

•Take a moment – you don’t need to answer straight away. It may also not be a good time to respond, maybe there’s other children there or you’re in a very busy place. It’s important to remember to go back and answer the question later

•Answer with a question – saying something like “That’s interesting, where did you hear that?” can buy you some time and can clarify the context and reasons for asking

•Keep to the question – younger children usually need a simple answer. Overloading them with information can be confusing. If they want to know more they’ll ask