During the week, I’m lucky to get home at 6:30. Usually it is sometime between that and 7pm. My husband gets home earlier, so he cooks dinner. We eat as soon as I walk in, and by the time we are finished we begin the nighttime routine of baths & books.
So dinner is really the only time I get to hear about my son’s day. When he was younger, he would tell us everything he did. In detail. Then it started to go something like this:
Loving Mother: How was your day?
Sweet, Well-Behaved Son: Good.
Mother: What did you do?
Well-Behaved Son: I don’t know.
Annoyed Mother: What do you mean, you don’t know? What lessons are you working on?
Bratty Son: I forget.
Angry Mother Who Already Feels Guilty For Working And Just Wants Her Son To Tell Her About His Damn Day: Well, honey.. (swig of wine) do you remember any of the books you read today, or did you do any fun art projects?
Ungrateful, Mean, Mean Son: I was playing outside all day, I don’t feel like talking anymore.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
I read an article that said you should ask your child, ‘What was your favorite part of your day?’ to get a conversation going since it is more specific. Except my son has the same answer everyday. ‘Playing outside.’ Um, ok. Good talk.
Now I have a list of questions that I have found REALLY get the conversation going. Sometimes I ask one, other times I need 2 or 3 to get a good idea of what he did. But I definitely hear much more about his day.
My favorite conversation starters:
- Who did you play with on the playground at school today & what games did you guys make up? (there is ALWAYS some sort of crazy game that was invented that day, I get a real kick out of hearing these)
- Who did you sit with at lunch and what did they have to eat?
- Who did something really funny & what did they do? (another one of my favorites…)
- What was the hardest thing you did at school today? (this one also helps me figure out what he may be struggling with)
- Did you learn any new jokes or songs today?
- When you got home from school, what did you do that you wish someone took a picture of?
- What is the craziest thing your sister did today?
- What do you think was Punky’s (our dog) favorite part of the day?
- Tell me something you did today that made another person smile?
- Tell me something someone did today that made you smile?
What are some questions you ask your child to help get more than a one word answer? I am always trying to come up with new ones!
Cute– never thought about kiddos being quite. Love these tips. Using on my nephew!
Yes, I find out so much more about his day this way!! 🙂
These are some great conversation starters! My step son specially doesn't enjoy it when i ask about his day. but i am sure these would help!
Thanks for your comment, Marwa! Hopefully you get some good chats in using some of these! 😉
Very good ideas! I use the who did you play with one alot. But its kinda getting shrugged away now so I'll have to break out some more of your ideas. Stopping by from SITS!
Thanks for stopping by, Leilani! Yay SITS! 😉 These questions have been working great, but I am sure I will have to switch them up with news ones soon enough!
These are awesome ideas. Putting this away for when my kids can actually hold a conversation 🙂
Seng
http://www.sengerson.com
Glad you liked them! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Love this! I use a lot of these, but two of my girls are uber talkative, so my problem is getting them to be quiet, so my third can get a turn. She's more of an introvert, so I think a few of these new ones will get her to open up. Great post!
Thanks for stopping by Whitney! My son is a chatterbox too, but sometimes at dinner he's just too tired to answer the usual "how was your day" lol I needed to get creative
Love these questions. Especially #5 Did you learn any new jokes or songs? My daughter always has a new song.
Yes, we have definitely heard some interesting jokes with this one. Kindergarten humor & dinner don't ALWAYS mix though… but we let him tell them anyway!! 😉
These are great, and will pin for Kindergarten next year. We start every meal with the Peak & the Pit…best and worst part of our day. We also ask top 3 things we are thankful for today…so even when we have a bad day we can always find the positive. Always feel more uplifted after family meals, even when the sink is full!
we used to do the best & worst part of our day… but these things only keep his attention for a few days before he starts answering the same way! haha! I am sure I will have to come up with a new list of go-to questions in a few weeks, but for now these are working great! Have a wonderful day!!
Shoot, these are probably decent conversation starters for dinner with my husband! 🙂
Hahaha… you bring up a very good point! 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
I have the same problem with my daughter who is Kinder. I love these!
Yes, all of a sudden they are just too busy to chat w us! 😉 Thanks for taking time to comment!
Great ideas! I'll have to try some of these tonight.
HI Jade! Thanks for reading & leaving a comment! Have a great weekend!:)
we have that exact same conversation at dinner every night with my daughter. I am a SAHM and I don't get any more clues out of her than my gone all day and half the night hubby! LOL!. These are great questions! I'll use them and try and think up some more! Stopping by from SITS.
Thanks for visiting! I hope the questions work for you.. I am working on a new batch that I'll be posting soon! 🙂
Can't wait to use these! Great tips & I love your transparency! Happy SITS day!
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment, I love SITS girls! 🙂
My son is quite the chatter box – Not sure how old your son is but mine is 7 and he still loves to chat so that's good – I take advantage and enjoy it. I love that as he gets older he becomes more vocal and able to express his thoughts and feelings. It makes it a bit easier to parent and guide him. These are great questions though will be trying some out today! Enjoy your feature Lauren and have a great weekend! -Iva
You are lucky! My son is 6 now, but he was 5 when I wrote this.. and he never wants to talk! (except when I am on the phone… ha!)
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this list! My daughter will never tell me how her day is and frankly I don't have a whole lot of energy by the end of the day to dig around for an answer. I will definitely be using some of these! Happy SITS Day! 🙂
I hope they work for you, sometimes it is good to have a go-to list of ideas, since it is hard to be creative after a long, busy day! 😉 Thank you for stopping by for my SITS day!
This is such a good list! It's like you gotta trick them into talking to you haha….definitely have to give this a go! Happy SITS day!
Yes.. I feel that way! Thanks for visiting for my SITS day! 🙂
Fabulous ideas!!! Thanks for sharing ❤❤
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Love these questions! I wonder if every child says "I don't know" and "I forgot!" I often ask "what was your favorite part of the day?" I also often ask "Who did you play with?" because I want to get to know the kids (and parents) of her friends.
Such good questions to get past "did you have a good day? – "yes" 🙂
This is a great list. I loved your intro conversation. Brought to mind my own son. Thanks for sharing!
Oh I love this!!!!! Totally gonna use these. I've started the high/low kinda thing with my,boys…and btw, 2 year old answers are so cool…but I love questions that force more concentration which lets face it, becomes necessary as they get older. Great list. Can't wait for part 2 ☺
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Thanks for sharing these awesome ideas, these are amazing and unique.