Asking your child how they feel after their day should be filled with anxiety. ย If your experience trying to initiate a conversation resulted in no more than a shrug or an โI dunnoโ answer, youโre totally in the habit of this matter.
Lots of children could not be more eager to share their stories about computer games, books, or their imaginary world โ still, they canโt remember anything about school or their feelings. ย Why could that be?
According to experts, it is not a memory problem but rather an issue of asking the wrong way. If you are looking to motivate your kid to share more, the secret is asking the right questions. ย Learn the 150 most attractive and successful conversation starters for kids and the advice on how you can make them open up.
๐ก Why Donโt Kids Open Up?
First, let’s take a look at why kids don’t talk before we move on to the questions.
Reasons Kids Stay Quiet:
- A very general question (for instance, “How was school?”) should be avoided at all times.
- They feel like they are being cross-examined or are scared of being told they are wrong
- They are worn out, overstimulated, or unfocused.
- They are not receiving the real attention or getting support.
How to Help:
- Pose questions that are particular and intriguing.
- Exhibit real engagement in their stories.
- Do not intercept or criticise โ merely be a listener.
- Let conversations unfold naturally and frequently.
What Are Some Unique Questions to Ask Children?
This list is the gold standard of 150 unique and open-ended questions to ask kids, sorted by type, that will make them feel recognized, listened to, and accepted.
These questions also solve the top regular inquiries as follows:
- What are 20 questions for kids?
- How can I get my child to open up?
- What is an open question for kids?
- Why donโt kids open up?
- How do you get a shy child to open up?
Everyday Questions About School
These questions not only make kids feel comfortable speaking but also make them reflect on the topic of interest, don’t they?
- What was the highlight of your day today?
- What was a source of entertainment for you today?
- Has anything unpleasant happened to you at school today?
- Which boy/girl did you sit next to during the lunch break?
- What was your most enjoyable moment today?
- Can you remember something you learned that was a great surprise for you?
- What were you forced to do was the most difficult part?
- Did you inquire about a couple of things during your lessons?
- Did you play any games during the break?
- Which lesson did you enjoy the most today?
Questions About Family
Support your kid in discovering their heritage and, as a result, feeling a part of the family of their roots.
- What do we like as a family that you believe is unique?
- Who do you trust most to tell an interesting story in the family?
- Suppose you were to be in charge of the family’s next vacation, what would be your ideal vacation destination?
- Do you consider yourself more of a mom or Dad type?
- What rule in our family would you change if you could?
- What was your fondest memory of a grandparent?
- Who, in our family, is the best cook, in your opinion?
- Whatโs the dearest family tradition to you?
- Whatโs one thing you will make sure to pass on to your future family?
- What would our family mascot be if we had one?
Questions About the Future
These are the sources of acts of imagination and immense sources of inspiration for many kids.
- Where would you like to teach if you were older and wiser?
- Who could possibly carry out the reconstruction work in the following year/for the next year’s disaster recovery plans?
- How would you use a million dollars?
- After you have left your youth, where would you like to take your abode?
- Are you possibly intending to give birth to children in the distant future? If yes, how many?
- What job would be the most exciting?
- What is your opinion about the car of your dreams and the house you have wished for?
- What is that one achievement you wish to see coming your way this year?
- What do you expect to find ‘yourself’ doing in 10 years?
- What’s the one invention that you’d wish you could find on the market?
Questions About the Past
Have your kid talk ruminatively about things from the past that touched their feelings and helped them develop their personality.
- Do you remember your first memory?
- What is the most remarkable gift someone has ever ‘presented’ to you?
- Tell me one funny thing that happened to you when you were young.
- Which is your favourite journey ever?
- Who was your best friend when you were very young?
- What really cracked you up recently?
- Whatโs the most memorable birthday you can recall?
- Whatโs the one activity youโve done that you would like to revisit?
- Whatโs an error from which youโve learned?
- What’s something you’ll always keep in your memory from the past?
โญ Questions About Favorites
These are ones that always work and are quite often followed by long talks.
- What do you like as your favorite color?
- What are your favorite movies and why?
- What book are you currently reading?
- What is your best-loved vacation and the reason for it?
- What is the food that you mostly go in for for lunch?
- What school subject do you find to be the best one?
- Which games are you fond of playing?
- What’s the thing that brings you good memories of friends?
- What track do you enjoy listening to the most?
- Which animal is it that you like the most?
๐จ Imagination Questions
A task like this will help your child to understand himself better!
- How long would you fly if you could fly for a day?
- What would your toys want to tell you, assuming they can talk?
- What is your preferred book or movie if this were possible?
- What supernatural power do you wish you had if you could choose only one?
- What kind of toy would you be, in case you were a toy?
- Imagine that you were a toy for kids; what kind would you be?
- If time travel was a word, where would you go?
- What would you use the robot for if you designed one?
- How to make your ideal theme park?
- What do you think of an animal that could speak?
Funny and Silly Questions
Entertain them, and theyโll become talkative.
- What is the most foolish action that you have executed?
- In case you were to have just one food every day, what would it be?
- Which is the oddest noise you can produce?
- In case you had to wear one outfit perpetually, what outfit would it be?
- What is the jelly made of if your feet were made of jelly?
- Whatโs the silliest word you can think of?
- Which is your most absurd dream ever?
- If you were a cartoon character, who could you be?
- What is your silliest ability?
- How would you be if you were invisible?
โ Would You Rather Questions for Kids
Perfect while traveling with the car, in a waiting room, or at a dinner table.
- Would you rather be able to fly or be able to grow a tail?
- If you were to choose, would you prefer to be extremely ‘intelligent’ or very lucky?
- Would you rather go back to the past or the future to travel in time?
- Are you more comfortable in a treehouse or a castle?
- Would you rather stop doing homework forever or never go to sleep early from today on?
- Would you rather take a swim with ‘dolphins’ or ride a dragon?
- Would you rather analyze space or the ocean?
- Would you rather have a robot or a pet dinosaur?
- Would you rather be famous or rich?
- Would you rather have the slide instead of the stairs or the floor of a trampoline?
๐ง Questions for Little Kids
The questions are basic simply and interestingly, suitable also for young kids.
- What is your favorite toy?
- What is your favorite thing to draw?
- What are the things that make you laugh?
- What do you like to do outside?
- If you had a store, what would you sell?
- What is your favourite bedtime story?
- What is your favourite snack?
- If you have a ‘pet dragon’, what would you give it as a name?
- What are you good at?
- What are your favorite things to do on weekends?
๐ง Questions for Big Kids
- Wireclub: The Best Free Online Chat Rooms for Strangers in 2024
- The Best Smartwatches for Kids of 2024: Top Picks for Safety, Fun
For more profound thought and personal development.
- What makes you feel most proud?
- What is the reason you are not frightened?
- What is an area where you currently do a lot of work to improve it?
- What is a piece of information that only a few individuals are aware of about you?
- In your opinion, what qualities distinguish a person as a good friend?
- Can you recall the last time you helped someone?
- Can you tell me about somebody you look up to and the reasons behind that?
- What do you reckon could be the problem affecting the adult’s understanding of children?
- What can put a smile on your face when you are in tears?
- What is the wildest dream you have?
๐ฌ Final Thoughts: How to Keep the Conversation Going
What we can take from Pamela Li’s suggestion is that how a query is formulated is of equivalent importance to the matter of the question.
- Donโt try to make the moment happen. Stay relaxed.
- Try and be a good listener. Don’t be judgmental.
- Recall a story of your own to demonstrate your vulnerability.
- There are days when children require only peace โ and thatโs perfectly okay.
- Try introducing these questions into your daily routine โ over dinner, while you are on your way, or at night. If the right method is used, you won’t have to hear “I don’t know” anymore.
- Would you like to be able to print it out or have a card deck? I can design it for ease of use โ just tell me!
- To increase clarity, replace with: Inquiring about your child’s feelings after their day should cause anxiety.
- To improve legibility, replace with: Many children could not be more eager to share their stories about computer games, books, or their imaginary worldโstill, they canโt remember anything about school or their feelings.
- To improve legibility, replace with: Asking the right questions is the key to encouraging your child to share more.
- To be concise, replace with: Learn the 150 best conversation starters for kids and how to get them to open up.
- To improve legibility, replace with: They feel like they are being cross-examined or are scared of being told they are mistaken.
- To avoid overused expressions, replace with: This list is a comprehensive collection of 150 unique and open-ended questions, categorized by type, designed to help children feel recognized, listened to, and accepted.
- To increase clarity, replace these with the origins of imaginative acts and significant sources of inspiration for numerous children.
- To increase clarity, replace with: This item is perfect for traveling in the car, in a waiting room, or at a dinner table.
- To increase clarity, replace with: The questions are basic, presented simply and interestingly, making them suitable even for young children.
- To increase clarity, replace with: I am seeking more profound thought and personal development.
