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Inside: Are you a teacher looking for fun ways to break the ice and get to know your students? Are you a parent looking to connect with your child on a different level? The best way to do either is to ask fun getting to know you questions for kids.
Sometimes it can be hard to get kids to open up and talk to you.
You ask them a question, and they close up tighter than a rusty 100-year-old clam, usually replying with a dreaded one-word answer.
You know, the “I don’t know” or “fine.”
But it’s important to ask questions to get to know our kids or students because we want to foster meaningful connections, which will help them feel supported, confident, and understood.
Below are oodles of getting to know you questions for kids, funny questions for kids, question of the day for students, thinking questions for kids, after school questions for kids, and even would you rather questions for kids, all designed to help your kids or students open up and get to know each other and you better.
Note: If you love these fun getting-to-know-you questions for kids, you will also go bananas for our All About Me Activities and Worksheets for Kids!
What Questions Should I Ask My Kids
If you’ve ever asked, “how do I get to know my child better?” You’ve come to the right place. We have 201 questions below. This gigantic list is broken into basic getting-to-know-you questions for kids, question of the day for kids, funny questions for kids, thinking questions for kids, after-school questions for kids, and would you rather questions for kids.
You’ve come to the right spot!
60 Getting to Know You Questions for Kids
Conversation Starters!
120 conversation starters for kids that are simply amazing! Foster gratitude, imagination, creativity, confidence, and empathy. Develop improved mental health, discover ambitions, and improve confidence. You’ll be surprised at what you can learn and what your child shares.
The other day, I learned that my child wants to go to Australia to visit the kookaburra bird. Then, the very next night, I learned that he feels jealous that he’s not the funny kid in class. So now I can help him boost his confidence by teaching him some clever jokes.
20 Funny Questions for Kids
You can’t always ask kids serious questions. They will become bored quite quickly. That’s why we’ve listed 20 funny questions for kids. Keep the laughs coming.
Question of the Day for Kids
Question of the day for kids is a fun tradition to do a home or in the classroom. Each day ask the kids one question. I love to use the family conversation starters pack and ask one question each night at the dinner table.
Would you Rather Questions for Kids
Would you rather questions for kids are always a hit. Kids love ’em, and adults do too. Go on; I bet you’ll have fun answering these questions as well.
Questions to Ask Kids After School
Parent: How was your day?
Child: Fine
Parent: What did you do today?
Child: I can’t remember
Sound familiar? Instead of beating your head against the wall, use one of these 20 questions to ask kids after school.
Thinking Questions for Kids
Open-Ended Questions For Kids
Often when we talk to our kids, we are met with one-word answers, like “fine,” “Whatever,” “Sure,” “I don’t know.”
So the trick to expanding the conversation with our kids is to ask open-ended questions.
Check This Out!
I love this article on how to use questions to further your child’s development.
How to Ask Open Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are really more about how you phrase a question. For example, you could say:
“How was school today?”
…and be met with the answer, “Fine.”
Or you could say, “What was your favorite part of the day?”
It’s hard to answer that with a one-word answer. Although, you might get met with an “I don’t know.”
In that case, you will need to expand on the conversation. (And you can also expand on the conversation even if you get met with a reasonable answer, as the adult, it’s our job to keep the flow going). It could look something like this:
“You don’t know what your favorite part of the day was? I get it! It’s hard to pick just one thing. Did you prefer reading or math class today?”
Once they start talking, you can continue, “I agree, reading is much more fun than math; what is your favorite book? When I was young, my favorite book was Charlotte’s Web.”
You can continue leading the conversation this way.
Open-ended questions help your child:
- find solutions
- think deeply
- increase connection.
Don’t forget to let your child know you ARE interested in what they are saying. Use leading phrases such as, “I’d love to hear about…” or “I find this so fascinating, tell me more…”
Pro Tips for Starting Open-Ended Questions
If you’re feeling a little unsure about how to use open-ended questions, here is a tiny cheat sheet of opening phrases:
- “Tell me about that time…
- “What should we do about.…”
- “I find this fascinating, tell me more…”
- “Why do you think…”
- “I’d love to hear about…”
- “What do you prefer…”
Don’t forget to snag your family conversation starters today.
Closed Questions for Kids Versus Open-Ended Questions
There is definitely a time and a place for closed questions for kids. Think, “would you prefer chicken or fish for dinner?” or, “did you hit your sister?” Be sure that you have the time and attention for the conversation when you initiate an open-ended question conversation with your kids.
Take a break
Brain Breaks for Kids
We’ve got 101 Brain Breaks for Kids, including movement, thinking, fun, would you rather, and tongue twisters.
How to Engage Children in Conversations
- Connect Before You Direct– Before asking your child to participate, squat to your child’s eye level, and engage your child in eye-to-eye contact to get their attention. You can say, “I need your eyes” or, “I need your ears.” (Use their name!)
- Reduce Distractions – Turn off the T.V and put any iPhone or tablets away. Everyone in the family should come into the present moment. Why not even lock up the electronics for a set period of time?
- Don’t Interrupt – This is very important. When someone is speaking you might have an urge to butt in and share a funny story or something that pops into your head. But please, wait your turn and give everyone a chance to share and talk.
- Follow-up – Wait until whoever is speaking is finished and then respond with a question or a comment. You could respond, “Wow that’s really interesting, I didn’t know that about you.” I’d encourage parents to also answer the questions and encourage their kids to ask follow-up questions.
- Show Respect – Always, always be kind and respectful
- Listen & Respond – Show the person speaking that you are listening by nodding, smiling and looking at them.
My favorite two questions to ask kids
I like to ask these two questions every day before bed:
- What is one thing that made you happy today?
- What is one thing you are grateful for today?
Final thoughts on Getting To Know You Questions for Kids
Getting to know your children or students is ultra important to connect with kids and help them feel confident and understood. These questions are a great way to start conversations and learn a little more about what makes a kid tick.
Not only will this help you get closer, but it’ll also allow you to learn more about yourself as well.
Add your own getting to know your question below!
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