13 Questions to Ask the Kids, Better Than ‘How Was School Today?’

By: Duncan Robinson

A year into my daughter’s schooling career, I’m realising something: asking the question ‘how was school today?’ gets about as much response as it does when my wife asks me, ‘how was work today?’

It’s like the moment I ask that question, my daughter morphs into a 16-year old girl only capable of mono-syllabic responses. She’s only six! And is hyper-extroverted.

It’s the same transformation my wife sees, when she asks me about my day.

Standard reply: “Good.”

Well, it’s time for this to change!

In an effort to work on being a better dad, I’m mixing the game up. I’ve done some research and the experts seem to think there are some much better questions to ask.

So, for everyone with a feisty kid who gets a little annoyed with “How was School Today?” here are 13 better questions to ask your kids.

The 13 Questions

Was there a moment today when you were really excited in class?
Hey, did you have a moment today when you got a little worried or scared?
Did you have a moment today when a classmate did something awesome for you?
Did you do something today that made you feel proud, or like you accomplished something special?
Tell me about a conversation you had with a classmate or friend that you enjoyed.
Did you have a moment when you were a little confused?
In class today did you hear something that you wanted to know more about?
If aliens came to school, who do you hope they would take?
What are you thankful for today? Could we give thanks to God about that?
Is there someone we can pray for today, maybe someone who felt a little down or sad?
If you could change seats in class, who would you sit next to?
What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
Is there a question you’d really like me to ask, that I haven’t yet?

It also seems really important to be asking these questions when we can best get our children’s best attention. The consensus among everyone I asked, was that the car ride home and at dinner time are best times to chat to our kids about their day.

So this year, lets mix things up and give these questions a try.

Also, remarkably, if you replace the words class/school and classmate, with work and colleague, you’ll find you get some great questions from your partners too.

Article supplied with thanks to Hope 103.2.

About the Author: Duncan Robinson is a radio host, pastor, husband and father of two.