How was your day dear?
How often do you get monosyllabic answers from your child when you ask the question ‘How was school today?’ You’re pleased with your nice ‘open’ question, so why do you feel you’re getting such a poor response?
When you get the ‘okay’ or ‘alright’ or the best one ‘I can’t remember’ (two minutes after leaving the school gates), do you leave it at that or do you probe some more?
I know when I get asked how my day has been, I want someone to ask more questions, to be really interested in what I’ve achieved and what didn’t quite go according to plan.
Here are 10 alternatives you can ask if you’re looking for a little more information.
- What did you have the most fun doing today?
- What did you do that really made you laugh today?
- What did you do that was kind today?
- Who could you have been nicer to today?
- What was the best thing you ate at lunch today?
- If you could go back in a time machine and change something about today, what would it be?
- What are you most looking forward to doing tomorrow?
- If you could switch seats with anyone in your class who would it be and why?
- Tell me something weird that someone said today.
- If I was to ask your teacher what the best thing was that you’ve done today, what would it be?
It’s amazing what you can learn from your children when you ask them different questions and how quickly they want to open up when they feel you are truly listening to them. If you’d like your own print out of these questions, Click here to open and print article.
For more tips like this and updates on how you can help your child build and maintain confidence, sign up to the Confidence Builder Club today – it’s a fantastic way of gaining confidence building skills which will last you and your children a lifetime.
Have a great week!
