Wellbeing

Questions to encourage more meaningful conversation.

How was your day at school? The most common responses to this question appear to be ‘Fine’ or ‘Boring’. What did you do at school today will often be met with ‘Nothing’.

As parents we try to engage children in conversation straight after school and we often get tears, grunts or one word answers that halt any further conversation and it feels like pulling teeth to get anything meaningful out of them. The majority of children, much like us, need downtime after school to process their day before they are ready to talk it through. Therefore these conversations are more productive around the dinner table or as part of a bedtime routine.

Here are some questions to prompt better and more engaging discussion at the end of a day. These questions can lead to a better understanding of your children and their experiences at school and gives you the opportunity to help them unpack their day and build strategies to overcome challenges they may face:

What was the best thing that happened at school today? Why? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)
Tell me something that made you laugh today.
Who do you like to sit near in class? Why? (Who don’t you like to sit near?)
Where is the best place to play at the school?
Tell me a new word that you heard today.
What was something interesting that someone said?
If I called your teacher tonight, what would they tell me about you?
How did you help somebody today?
How did somebody help you today?
Tell me one thing that you learned/found out today that you didn’t know.
When were you the happiest today?
When were you bored today? What did you do about it?
If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed someone up, who would you want them to take? Why?
Who would you like to play with at recess who you’ve never played with before?
What word did your teacher say the most today?
What would you like to do/learn more of at school?
What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?
Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?
Where do you play the most at recess?
Who is the funniest person in your class? Why are they so funny?
What was your favourite part of lunch?

Kate Nancarrow

Assistant Principal