7 Questions to ask your child on the walk home from school
And what you really mean!
We all just want reassurance, that between those golden hours when our kids are in school, they are ok. They’re happy, included, listening, have friends, asking for help if they need it…The list goes on.
Finding out what we want to know, without it sounding like an interrogation, or the child clamming up, can be hard! If we ask ‘how was your day’, we will likely get a monosyllabic response like ‘fine’. So, we’ve come up with 7 questions to ask your child which will hopefully elicit a fuller response and help you to find out all you need to know – together with our guess as to what you really mean when you ask them
What to ask...
What you really mean...
- What is your favourite lesson?
Please let there be something you enjoy
If there’s a lesson that they look forward to it shows you that they at least enjoy some part of their school day and you don’t have to worry too much!
As a bonus – children normally like the subjects that they can do, so by finding out what their favourite lesson is it can point you in the direction of their strengths and interests that you may even be unaware of.
- What made you smile today?
I want to picture you having fun and being happy
As a parent, if you had a priority list for your children, right at the very top would probably be for them to be healthy and happy. By asking them ‘what made you smile today?’ they’re remembering the good things that have happened during the day. Them feeling positive about their day makes you feel good too.
- What did you eat at lunchtime?
Please let it be something slightly healthy
Why do we become neurotic when it comes to our children eating? We perhaps naively think that if we’re not in control of it and they are left to their own choices they may not be eating the right things. If they surprise you and there’s even a hint of fruit and vegetable then maybe it takes the pressure off you for dinner!
- Who was kind today?
I hope you’re being kind
I’m sure we’ve all seen our little angels halo’s slip, or even turn into complete devils! Of course, when they want something they are kind, but we want to know if they are kind to people around them when we aren’t there watching. It’s great if they tell you that they’ve been kind but if they tell you that someone has been kind to them, it’s nice to think that they might have been kind to that person too 😊
- Tell me one thing you learnt today?
Surely you must have learnt something
They’ve spent 6 hours in school, but trying to get your child to tell you what they did all day is a challenge! ‘Did you learn anything today?’…’No’. We’re left wondering if they have been staring into space all day. Instead, get them to explain something they have learnt to you. They will love sharing that knowledge and you know that have learnt at least one thing!
- Who did you play with today?
I hope you weren’t alone and are with the right people
Let’s face it, it’s all about lunchtime. friendships are made or unmade, children are included or excluded, kind and mean. Asking about who they played with at lunch is a nice way of finding out firstly, that they actually played with someone, but also that they played with the good kids and not the ones you dread they will make friends with.
- What is your least favourite subject?
If you need help let’s get some. I don’t want you to struggle
Whilst we don’t want to dwell on a negative conversation, it’s important to find out where children might need some support. For younger children, we might have to ask ‘which lesson don’t you like’ as inevitably, the subjects they don’t like might be the ones they find difficult. We all had less favourite subjects at school, so it’s easy to empathise here, and if you can’t help your children directly with subject support, there will be lots of professionals who can…Like us!
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