Every day, we parents eagerly wait for our children to get back home from school; wanting to know everything they did that day. The moment they enter through those doors, we rush to embrace them and enthusiastically ask the usual ‘How was your day?’ This is usually met with their indifferent response of ‘fine’ or ‘good’. We usually get impatient with our kids, and blame them for not communicating with us properly. Perhaps, the fault may be ours for not asking the right questions. Asking the same old ‘How was your day’ can be monotonous and boring. Here are 50 ways to ask your kids ‘How was your day’ without actually asking ‘How was your day’!
1. Tell me what you read in class today.
2. Who did you play with today?
3. Are you finding *insert subject* easy or hard?
4. What was your favorite part of the day?
5. If you could choose, who would you like to sit with in class?
6. Tell me one thing that you learnt today.
7. What is your favorite part of school?
8. Do you like your class teacher?
9. What is your favorite subject?
10 . What subject do you find hard?
11 . Did you make any new friends today?
12 . What did you do in recess today?
13 . Who is the funniest person in your class? What did he/she do?
14 . Tell me something good that happened today
15 . Did you like your lunch today?
16 . What do your friends bring for lunch?
17 . What do you hate about school?
18 . Who is your best friend at school?
19 . If you could be a teacher, what would you teach?
20 . Did you help anyone today?
21 . How would you rate your day on a scale of one to ten?
22 . Who is the naughtiest kid in class?
23 . Which class rule is the hardest to follow? Why?
24 . Did the teacher make any important announcements today?
25 . Who do you enjoy talking to and playing with?
26 . Which day of the week is your favorite? Why?
27 . What do other kids do during recess?
28 . Who do you sit with at lunch?
29 . Did anybody help you today?
30 . If you could play with someone you’ve never played with before, who would it be?
31 . Tell me one thing that made you laugh today.
32 . How is this year different from last year?
33 . What are you excited to do tomorrow?
34 . What classes did you have today?
35 . Who brings the best lunch?
36 . What was the hardest part of the day?
37 . Who do you think you could be nicer to?
38 . If today had a theme song, what would it be?
39 . What do you think the most important part of school is?
40 . Tell me one question/ doubt you had today.
41 . If you could be invisible for one day at school, what would you do?
42 . If you could go to only one class every day, which class would it be?
43 . Who was absent today? Any idea what happened to them?
44 . Was the test you had today as hard/easy as you thought it would be? What questions were on the test?
45 . Which do you like best: art class, music class or physical education?
46 . Can you show me something you learnt (or did) today?
47 . Who made you smile today?
48 . What is the coolest place in school?
49 . When were you bored today?
50 . Did you finish your lunch today? Did you like it?
Other tips to keep in mind :
• You don’t have to ask them these questions immediately after they return from school. Give your child time to settle when they come back home after a long day at school, before engaging in conversation with them.
• Ask them open-ended questions rather than ones that can be answered with a yes or no.
• The way you ask questions matter. Don’t be over enthusiastic, and don’t be too flat either.
• Judge your child’s mood to understand how their day might be, before asking them questions about their day.
• Don’t ask too many questions as this might just annoy them! If they are in a bad mood, give them some space and ask them about it later.
• Often kids are not specific so you need to ask for specific information if you want it.
• Ask positive questions to encourage more conversation.
• Never ask the same questions every day. There are endless ways to ask your kid how their day was, so try to ask them something new every day! This will let you learn more about them.
