Opening Dialogue Between Children & Parents
“So, how was school today?”
How many times do we as parents ask this question? And as parents, you’ll also know that you can probably count on the fingers of one hand the words in the response you’ll get.
“Fine.”
“Good.”
My son’s school started today. And with most schools slated to begin within the next few weeks, the hustle and bustle of a new school year brings plenty of excitement and opening new beginnings. However, once routine sets in, it can be hard to keep opening the lines of communication between you and your child. School is an enormous part of our children’s lives. Not only do we entrust schools with passing on knowledge, they also play a large part in social and emotional development. Therefore, as parents what we really want to know about our children’s days is not necessarily what they learned academically, but the challenges and successes that help them to grow as a person.
Parent blogger Liz has come up with a list of 25 ways to ask “so how was school today?”, without asking “so how was school today?” The article (lists questions to start conversations and garner information from your children, such as:
- “What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)”
- “If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed up someone, who would you want them to take?”
- “What word did your teacher say most today?”
The article also contains links to related articles, with a list of questions aimed at opening dialogue with teenagers and also an article about keeping lines of communication between parents and children open.
How do you find out about your child’s day?