31 Questions That Really Get Your Kids To Tell You About Their Day

When my son was in school I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted to find out how his day was and what was happening in his life, I had to be really strategic. Simply asking him, “How was your day?” wasn’t enough. I’d always get the same answer.

“Fine.”

If you want to create a dialogue with your child about their life when they’re away from you (and all good parents do), you have to ask questions that demand more than a yes or no answer.

Below are one month’s worth of questions and conversation starters designed to get a daily, detailed response from your kiddo.

You could print them and cut the questions up, put them in a jar and draw one or two out at the supper table every night. Or maybe ask one question each afternoon on the ride home from school.

However you do it, I encourage you to start the habit with this school year. The more you take an interest in their time at school, the more likely they are to come to you when something troubling (like bullying or struggling with grades) happens.

1. What was your teacher wearing today?
2. What was the most fun thing you did today at recess?
3. What was the hardest thing you had to do today?
4. Who made you laugh today?
5. Who is the funniest person in your class?
6. If you were the teacher today, what would you have taught the whole class?
7. What was your favorite food at lunch?
8. What food did you really want to throw away because you didn’t like it?
9. Who was the nicest person in your class today?
10. Which kid got in trouble for something today?
11. At recess did you swing, or run, or go down the slide?
12. Who is your favorite person in class?
13. What are you supposed to do when you have to go to the bathroom?
14. What did your teacher wear to school today?
15. When you lined up for lunch, who was the line leader?
16. When your teacher wants to whole class to be quiet and listen, what does she do?
17. Who has the coolest lunch box in your class?
18. Tell me about one thing you learned today?
19. Who are your three very best friends?
20. How many of your friends have brothers and sisters?
21. What happened today that bored you?
22. Who is the person in your class that you’d put in time-out if you were the teacher?
23. If you could sit beside any person in the class, who would it be?
24. What is your favorite area of your classroom?
25. What dessert did the lunch room serve today?
26. Did you trade any of your food for a different food?
27. What was the hardest thing you did today?
28. What was the easiest thing you did today?
29. Which of your friends play sports?
30. What sports do your friends play?
31. What did your class read today?