Here is a great list of questions to ask kids, and make a good start to meaningful, interesting, conversations.
As parents, we all want to be friends with our children and make them feel they can trust us and talk to us about their dreams, things they love, and especially things that trouble them.
However, most of the time, children are not so willing to talk.
“How was your day?” “Good!”
“Anything special happened today?” “Nothing!”
Does that sound familiar?
You are thirsty to learn what they think, how they feel, how their day went at school, but they simply give you yes and no answers, if they even answer at all!
They can’t wait to get back to their computers and cell phones and iPods and hide behind a screen.
To encourage family conversations, find below lists of good, open – ended questions to ask your child, effective for both kindergarten kids and older students.
Questions to ask your kids, get them talking, get to know them better and learn as much as you can from what they have in their beautiful head.
Questions to ask kids to get to know them better
What makes you really happy?
What makes you sad?
What is the best thing in your life?
What is the best thing mom/dad does for you?
If you had one wish, what would that be?
What has been the worst day of your life?
If you could change one family rule what would that be?
What are you really grateful about?
Would you rather be the most creative movie director or most famous actor?
Would you rather do a school project alone or as part of a team?
Would you rather spend a day at the beach or in a park?
If you were to choose your country of living what that would be?
What trait of your character do you feel most proud of?
What trait of your character do you feel needs improvement?
What is your most important skill?
What scares you?
What do you like most about our family?
If you could get rid of one chore, what would it be?
How much time should we allow for social media
What is your most loved memory from our family life
What is the happiest moment you think of?
When was the last time you felt sad? Why?
What is the one thing you would take with you on a desert island?
If you could choose a different name what would that be?
What is your biggest dream?
What family policy would you rather change?
What is your favorite type of questions
What is your favorite book?
What is your favorite song?
What is your favorite movie?
What is your favorite day of the week?
What is your favorite food?
What is your favorite season of the year?
What is your favorite thing that we do together as a family?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite thing to do on weekends?
What is your favorite subject at school?
Where is your favorite place to be?
Questions to ask kids about school
What is the most interesting thing you learned today?
Did anyone get in trouble toda? What happened?
What was the funniest moment today?
Who did you play with today?
Anything happened that made you sad?
Did you notice anyone being unkind? How?
What is one new thing you learned today?
How were you helpful today?
What’s your least favorite subject?
What was the worst part of your day? How would you change that if you could go back?
Who made you smile today?
What is the most surprising thing the teacher said today?
What is the hardest thing about school?
What book did the teacher read today?
Who had the best idea for what game to play at recess today?
Was anyone playing alone at recess today? And if they are tomorrow, what can you do about it?
Fun Questions to Ask Kids
If you could be invisible for one day only, what would you do?
If you found a genie in a bottle, what would be your three wishes?
What is the funniest thing mom does?
What is the funniest thing dad does?
What was the worst thing you have ever eaten? Why was it so bad?
What superpower would you like to have?
If you could fly, where would you fly to?
What animal would you rather be?
What is the craziest thing a friend did?
What is the worst smell?
What job would you never want to have?
What is the most annoying sound?
Which toy would you like if it came to life?
If you want something to disappear what would it be?
Tips to Engage Children in Conversations
Here are some tips to follow to engage children in conversations.
Follow the child’s lead:
Notice your kid’s facial expressions and comments. If your child seems bored, change the subject. Express interest in your child’s interests and ask questions on them.
Share your personal stories:
Talk with your children about your own experiences, share both your successes and failures. Let them know that you have also had the same feelings.
Use everyday routines and activities as opportunities for rich conversational talk:
Whether this is every evening at bedtime, or during play time or during dinner time. Make it a routine and set a time for kid questions to answer .
Be open and generous:
Listen to your child and be open about his answers. Don’t be judgemental and don’t urge to correct him if something sounds unrealistic. Even if a kid isn’t opening up, it’s OK. Children deserve their space and privacy just like adults.
Treat them with respect, and choose another time when they are in a better mood.
Think about going out on dates with your children – one at a time:
It’s a great way for bonding and children are more willing to open up during these special outings with Mom.
Why is it important to ask open – ended questions?
- Open ended questions help children express themselves better, include more information,share their thoughts and feelings, or even ask for help.
- Open – ended questions facilitate an unlimited number of possible answers. Actually they have no wrong answers. Children can describe things the way they understand them and you can get a clearer picture of the way they perceive things.
- By answering open – ended questions kids develop their language as they are using different words and a wider range of vocabulary to answer the question.
- Certain open – ended questions can require children to recall recent or past events which develops their short and long-term memory skills.
- Open ended questions require adults to listen attentively to children’s responses and this shows the children that what they are saying is important, building trust among the family and strengthen the family bond.
I love this! It reminded me of a book I read when my kids were little that was called ‘How to Talk so kids will Listen’. It’s a very interesting dynamic and a great connection that we build with our kids if we just take the time to rephrase our questions and take the time to listen to them.
Totally agree! We just need to ask the right questions to our kids and then take time to listen!
Great list! and it actually works for elderly people too. I will keep it in mind
So happy you found this list of questions useful Lyosha! I use them too as conversation starters in many situations
These are great questions to ask. I will try some of these with my kids
Hey Tara! i’ve tried them with my kids and the actually work! They really get them talking haha!
I love your list. You are right about engaging children in conversation with you and also find out about their day etc. Some of the questions are great conversation starters with adult too. I used to find that when my kids were young, dinner times without the TV on, was good for talking with the kids.
Hi Mina thank you so much! For me bath time is the best time to ask my kids questions about their day, and their thoughts! And i use this list for inspiration!
I am so bookmarking this. My oldest is a first grader and the youngest just started to talk, I’m going to need as much help as I can get!
Yeappp! Questions will help you connect better with your kids and it will help them express themselves better!
Such an underrated yet important topic you’ve touched here. It’s funny how children are getting disconnected from their parents due to lack of communication. In times like these, being in touch and speaking to each other is so important. And asking questions is an essential part of the process. Lovely write up!
Thank you so much! children are so attached to technology these days, parents need extra effort to get them talking. I ask my kids all kind of questions every day, sometimes funny questions, sometimes questions to get to know them deeper, or about their day! It’s so important to connect.
for a happier and strong family the most essential need is to have a good relationship with everyone..although these mentioned lists of questions really sounds helpful and useful for every of parent…glad you shared them with us….
Thank you so much! I hope this list of questions helps as many parents as possible!
I love this list. As my nieces and nephews get older I sometimes feel it is hard to communicate with them.
Hi Melissa! We all need some conversation starters sometimes. So nice you find this list of questions for kids helpful!
This is great advice! My kids were always quiet when they were younger, but I think that had to do with me talking so much! They couldn’t get in a word edge wise!!!
When i talk too much my kids talk even more! hahaha..At least we have the right questions to ask our children for a productive conversation!