What’s on Your Mind? Conversation Starters for Kids

It can be tough to get kids to talk about their day at school. But when they don’t share any infor­ma­tion, it’s hard to know how things are real­ly going. Ask­ing open-end­ed ques­tions can help get con­ver­sa­tions about school rolling.

Often, when par­ents ask about their child’s day at school, they don’t get a big response. It might be just a shrug, or a quick ​“fine.” Open-end­ed ques­tions encour­age kids to real­ly think about what hap­pened dur­ing their day. And they can help you get more than a one-word answer.

Here are ten ques­tions from our Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG) Behav­ioral Health team you can ask to learn more about your child’s day at school. 

1. What was some­thing that made you smile today?

2. Did any­thing sur­prise you today?

3. Which sub­ject was your favorite today?

4. What was the most inter­est­ing thing you learned today?

5. Did you help any­one today — or did some­one help you?

6. If your day had a theme song, what would it be?

7. Was there a moment today when you felt real­ly proud of yourself?

8. What was the hard­est thing you did today?

9. What’s some­thing you’re look­ing for­ward to tomorrow?

10. Did your teacher say any­thing that made you laugh or think?

To make these con­ver­sa­tions even more engag­ing, try cre­at­ing a Ques­tion Jar at home. Write each of these ques­tions (and any oth­ers you come up with) on slips of paper and place them in a jar. At din­ner, bed­time, or even dur­ing the dri­ve home, let your child pick one to answer. It’s a sim­ple, fun way to build con­nec­tions and get them talking.

If you have ques­tions or con­cerns about your child’s men­tal health, our QMG Pedi­atrics team is here to sup­port you. Call us at 217−222−6550, ext. 3333.