Ways To Ask Your Child About School

When you ask your learner what happened or what he/she learned in school today, do you get the same response that a lot of parents get?

"Nothing" 

Frustrating... Right?

Sometimes if you are lucky you get "good," or "fine," or the dreaded conversation killer: "I don't remember" when you ask your child about her day. Well take solace in the fact that your learner is not giving you the cold shoulder on purpose.  Knowing why your child clams up and having some ways to help him/her organize their thoughts, will help you get the scoop.

A million things, big and small, have happened since your learner got on the bus or out of the car, so when you ask "What happened at school today?" he/she may be overwhelmed. Should she tell you about the earthquake drill? The weird smell in the lunchroom? How he scored 100 on the spelling test? "He doesn't know what kind of information you want, so he truly draws a blank," says Adam Cox, PhD, author of Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect.

By asking your learner specific questions like, "Who did you play with at recess?" or "Who did you sit next to at lunch?" you'll begin teaching your child how to think back in time and share stories about his/her experiences, explains Dawn Huebner, PhD, psychologist and author of the What-to-Do Guides for Kids series. You'll also be giving your learner a better idea of the kind of things you're interested in knowing about. If you want enthusiastic answers, ask fun questions: Best/Worst or Coolest/Most Uncool thing that happened engages learners, and it provides another way to help kids share the day's events.

If you are like me, you want to hear all about your child's day. Below I have put a link to 25 Ways to Ask Your Child About School. This is a helpful resource in getting your learner talking about school. 

25 Ways to Ask Your Child About School