Question: My four-year-old is the type of boy who considers questions very carefully before he answers. But his six-year-old sister constantly butts in whenever I pose questions to him (i.e. questions about the stories we read, or what-if situations to foster creative thinking). He gets frustrated and cries when this happens, but I can't seem to get his sister to stop dong this.

Answer: Your impulsive six-year-old is obviously very impatient with her more reflective little brother and prefers to interfere when he takes his time. There may also be an element of competitiveness between them as well, which only adds to the tension. I think there are a number of steps you can take to improve the situation. First, explain to your daughter why it is important to give her brother time to answer a question. Point out that he is different from her, that he needs to think more before he speaks and that he isn’t doing this deliberately to annoy her. Encourage her to be more patient with him. Second, suggest to your four-year-old that he tries to answer questions more speedily, that he doesn’t always reflect for such a long time before giving a response. Tell him that he shouldn’t be afraid of getting the wrong answer sometimes; there could also be a lack of self-confidence here. Lastly, since you know that there is often conflict when you pose a question like this to the two of them together, try to avoid these moments of potential conflict where possible, for example, by asking your son questions when you and he are alone together.

Answered by Dr Richard Woolfson, a child psychologist based in the UK