Talking to Kids About Their Day

Written by: Jaymi Firestone

It’s that time of year. Teachers are getting back in the swing of things, decorating bulletin boards and working on curriculum. Students are enjoying their last fleeting days of summer. Parents are preparing for schedules and routines to start again. It’s stressful to jump back into homework and resuming a schedule that’s jam-packed with activities.

After the jump back into school routine, it’s important for parents to take the time to talk with their child about their school day.

There is a lot that happens in the day of a student, but parents often struggle to get their child to discuss what those things are. The problem is that most parents ask, “how was school today?” and inevitably the response will be, “fine.” Then it’s usually a follow-up of, “what did you do?” and the response for most is “nothing.” That’s where the conversation ends.

According to Sherry Artemenko, a speech language pathologist with 30 years of experience talking with children ages 1-18, the key to getting children to elaborate on their day is asking the right questions. Questions need to be open ended so they cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. This will allow the child to give details about their day and will open the door for conversations like never before!

Here are some questions to try with your student as they finish their first few days!

1. What made you smile today?

2. Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw or showed today?

3. What did you do that was creative?

4. Who did you sit with at lunch?

5. Was anyone in your class gone today?

6. Tell me something you know today that you didn’t know yesterday.

7. Did you like your lunch?

8. What was the hardest rule to follow today?

9. If you could change one thing about your day, what would it be?

10. What made your teacher smile today?

11. What made your teacher frown today?