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Back to school: Don't ask your kid how their day was, ask these questions instead

With students everywhere getting ready to head back to school, parents should start thinking about better ways to ask their children how their day was.
Credit: Thinkstock Photos
Family at home eating a meal together.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It's the first full week of school for most students in Tampa Bay. That means a new grade, new teacher and new classes.

Parents will be eager to know how their child's day was but in order to do that, parents might want to consider mastering the "art of the question" but only after your child has had time to cool down.

It might be second nature to ask your child, "how was your day?" but odds are you're often met with a one-word answer such as, "good", "fine" or "boring."

Dr. Stacey Scheckner, a family psychologist in Tampa explained that kids need to have a break after a long day of "being on" at school. They probably don't want to rehash their day right away and would benefit more from a snack and quiet time.

Scheckner believes the car is not the best place to get your kids talking. Instead, parents can lead by example by telling their kids what happened to them at work or something funny they saw that day.

Rather than peppering your child with questions immediately after school, parents should do the sharing and ease into the conversation after a quality cool down session.

Once the time is right, be sure to ask the right questions to get a better response out of your child and therefore some keen insight into the eight hours your child spent away from you.

Search a couple parent blogs or articles and you'll be armed with questions to get your child talking. Here's a list of our favorites.

20 questions to ask your kid instead of, "how was your day?"

1) What made you smile today?

2) How did somebody help you today?

3) Do you like the seat you were assigned in class? Why?

4) What was the best thing that happened at school today?

5) Tell me one thing you learned today.

6) Who had the best lunch?

7) If you were the teacher, what would you teach your class?

8) Did someone help you today?

9) Is there anyone in your class who needs a time-out?

10) What games do kids play at recess?

11) Who is the funniest person in the class?

12) Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?

13) Who would you like to play with at recess that you never played with before?

14) When were you bored today?

15) Where is the coolest place at school?

16) Tell me something you learned about a friend today.

17) Does anyone in your class have a hard time following the rules?

18) What made you feel proud today?

19) Did anyone get on your nerves today?

20) Did you help anyone today?

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