When picking your child up from school, the first question any parent is most likely to ask is “How was your day?” The automatic answer from most children is “Good!” or “Fine!” Although it is an open-ended question, it can be easily answered with one simple word. Getting your child to talk about their school day can be a tough task, so it is important to word your questions in a way that will get your child talking.

Here are 10 conversation starters that will get your child excited to talk about their day:

• Tell me about something you did at your desk today.
• What was the most challenging part of your day?
• Tell me about something you read in class today.
• What was your favorite subject to study today?
• What was the funniest thing that happened today?
• Tell me something you know today that you didn’t know yesterday.
• What questions did you ask at school today?
• What did you talk about with your friends at lunch?
• Who made you smile today and why?
• What was the best part of your day?

Notice how these questions pave the way for a great conversation, rather than short answers or the simple yes or no. Engaging your child in good conversation after school will make them more excited to tell you about their day, and they will begin looking forward to sharing all the details. It may take some time, but with questions like these, your child is bound to open up and express their feelings on a regular basis – maybe even without prompting!