45 Questions you can ask your child instead of "How was your Day?"

Almost all parents struggle when it comes to finding ways to have your children openly share details about their day. Especially with Pre-Schoolers (Ages 3-5), it becomes tough to get them answer the most basic questions about their day, and when they do share it usually a single word. Talking and discussing on the table over Dinner can make for a great experience every day, so we combined a list of Questions that you can ask them instead of the standard "So, how was your Day?".

1. Did you Teacher say anything funny today?
2. Did you learn anything new at School today? (You will probably get a word answer here, but it's important to ask anyways).
3. Who was nice to you today?
4. Did anything make you sad or cry today? (This is an important one, as most children will not mention it on their own).
5. Who was the naughtiest Boy or Girl in your Class today?
6. What did you eat for Lunch?
7. Who made you Smile today?
8. Did your Teacher scold anyone today?
9. Who brought the yummiest Food in their lunch today? What was it?
10. Did you share your food with anyone today? Did they share anything with you?
11. What would you rate your day on a scale of 1 to 10? Why?
12. What is your Teacher’s most important rule?
13. Which area of your school is the most fun?
14. What was your favourite Food today?
15. Will you thank God today? What will you say to him
16. What do you think Heaven looks like?
17. What do you want to be when you grow up? The answer could lead you to the next follow up question (below)
18. What do I do at Work? (This can lead to a very interesting conversation)
19. How many cousins do you have? How many are Boys and how many are Girls?
20. Who is your favourite Aunt or Uncle and why do you like him or her so much?
21. If you could be an Animal for a day, which one would you be?
22. What is Love?
23. What is your favourite Cartoon Character? Why?
24. If you could live in a house shaped like anything, what would it be?
25. What do you think is above the Clouds?
26. What are you really good at?
27. What was your favourite Holiday?
28. What is the nicest/worst smell in the World?
29. If you could mix two Animals together, which would they be?
30. If (Pet's Name) could talk, what do you think he/she would say?
31. What makes you happy?
32. What is your favourite Number? Why?
33. What is your favourite Colour? If you mix A and B colour what do you think you will get?
34. What do you dream about when you sleep?
35. If you had to give away all your toys and could keep only ONE, which one would it be?
36. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
37. If you had three wishes, what would they be?
38. What are the best and worst things about Mum and Mad?
39. Can you name one thing that scares you?
40. What do you do when you’re scared to make it less scary?
41. Would you rather give up Cartoons, Ice Cream or your Friends?
42. Play the Word Association game. Ask them to say the first thing that pops up in their mind.
43. What’s the funniest thing you've ever seen?
44. Play the Word Sound game (ask them to come up with words with sounds that are similar to the ones you make)
45. Play the Comparative Numbers game (say two numbers, and ask them to tell you which is lower or higher)

It's important to note that speaking to child at this age, it's a matter of their timing, not yours. You will notice a lot of times they will open up and tell you something about their day own their own without any prompting. This is the time for you to listen. Very often you will find that these instances happen when direct eye-contact is not required like when together in the Car for example. It's up to you to ensure that you put yourself in the position for these scenarios to occur. When it comes to your children, it is both quality and quantity of time that matter!

Have other suggestions? We would love to hear from you below..