Conversations with your child that go beyond...

"How was your day?" 

The trick is to ask about things that are specfic but still open-ended. Move beyond "fine" and "nothing" by asking your child to describe their world.  It's also great to start the conversation with an anecdote from your own day.

Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of prompting and creating a relaxed and welcoming environment to get the conversation going. Talking about school daily is a great opportunity for your child to know that you care about them.  It also gives you important insights into any problems like conflict or bullying, school anxiety, friendship challenges and more. 

Try one or more of these 10 questions tomorrow and see how your child reacts:

1. What was your favourite part about school today?

2. What activity did you like the most today?

3. What was the funniest thing that happened in your class today?

4. What made you laugh/worry/smile in school today?

5. What parts of school today went by the fastest? Slowest?

6. What are you looking forward to learning in school tomorrow/this month/year?

7. What's something your teacher said to you today that made you think?

8. What was something different that happened today?

9. What was the hardest thing you had to do today?

10. Can you show me something you learned or did today? 

Of course, if your child doesn't want to talk about school, you should respect that too.  Some children need a little space and time to relax after school before they are ready to talk.  By asking meaningful questions and really listening to the answers, you can get to know a lot about your child and how they are doing at school.