Most parents know that asking “How was your day?” is not likely to get their kids talking about their days in a meaningful way. The kind of information we really want—whether they learned something new, had trouble with a friend, triumphed or failed—is usually hard to get from a tired kid at the end of a long school day. But it’s tricky to figure out what questions to ask without seeming like we’re pestering or nagging. What are some good alternatives to “How was your day?”
Alternatives to “How Was Your Day?” for Preschoolers
- If you drew a picture of your day, what colors would you use?
- If I watched you play at recess today, what would I have seen?
- What’s one way someone helped you today?
Ideas for Elementary Kids
- If you were writing an article about your day, what would the headline be?
- What’s one thing about today you wish you could do over?
- What’s one thing you learned today you think I might not know?
- If a movie was made about your life, would you include anything that happened today? Why or why not?
- Who was the most fun person you encountered today? How about the least fun?
- What made you smile today? Tell me about it.
Questions for Teens and Tweens
- If you had a photo album of all the moments from your day, what would the top 5 photos include?
- If today were a book/movie/TV show/video game, what book, show, movie, or game would it be?
- Have you made anything cool or beautiful this week?
- If you could choose a playlist to represent today, what would be on it?
- Something happened to me today that I want to tell you about. What would you have done when….?
