I don’t know what kind of top-secret shiz is going down at my son’s school, but he’s seemingly taken an oath not to reveal anything to outsiders like me. The usual conversation at school pick up time invariably goes something along the line of this.
“Hey Champ, what have you been doing at school today?”
“Can’t remember”
His answer to my question changes occasionally, but never offers any more insight. He’ll mix it up with “just stuff” now and then, and at times merely proffer a grunt in a manner that he deems satisfactory enough to answer my query.
He’s happy at school. If I ask him how his day has been, he’ll tell me it’s been ‘great’ or ‘awesome’, so I’m not particularly worried about anything. I just think he’s being a lazy toad and can’t be bothered to tell his dear old dad about the phonics worksheet or whatever else he’s worked on today.
If you have a similarly taciturn kid that won’t give you the details of their school day, here’s a few tips that might eke out that information a little easier.
Ask Open-ended Questions
This is salesman 101 talk here, and was drummed into me way back when I was a plucky young insurance advisor. I was a terrible salesman, but the advice is solid. Asking open-ended questions allows answers to become fleshed out and reveal titbits of info that a yes or no answer never would have yielded.
Bring up Your Own Memories of School
It’s worth bringing up your own memories of school in conversation. By saying something like “hey, did I ever tell you about the time we had to make a robot when I was at school?”, you practically lay out the red carpet for your child to tell you about what they’ve been making. Of course, if your kid’s just had straight maths all day instead, this may not offer any results.
Role Play
Kids love to role play, and if you can set up a school scenario at home, you’ll start to get an inkling of the stuff they’ve been up to. Of course, they love a bit of role reversal, so let your child play as the teacher whilst you’re the pupil. Unless they’ve been binge-watching old episodes of Grange Hill, their only experience of lessons will be the ones that they themselves have participated in.
The lessons that your child gives you then, will either show their most recent, favourite, or worst lesson. Sneaky, eh!
Ask Different Questions
Kids fit a lot of stuff into one school day. Answering a question like “what did you do at school today?” can possibly be a bit of a chore. I guess it’s a bit like asking an adult “what housework did you do last week?”. You know that answering it is going to take a while and won’t be particularly entertaining for either party.
Instead, try asking something like “what was your favourite part of school today?”. Straight away, you’ve narrowed it down for them so that the question isn’t so broad and overwhelming. You could also follow it up with what their worst part was too if you’re worried about anything.
These tips are really only designed to get your child to chat a bit more about their day. I’m just nosey and enjoy learning about what my son likes and dislikes as he gets older. If you have any major concerns it’s probably worth having a word with their teacher instead.
Not that I endorse lying to your kids, but sometimes you’ve just got to. Here’s 6 necessary lies to tell your child (even that’s a lie – there’s actually only 5).
Does your young one fancy joining a football club? Check out these tips on how to choose the right football club for young kids.
Got another on the way? You’ll do well to remember the daftest things you forget about having a baby.