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Oct 31, 2022

Meaningful Conversation Starters for You and Your Kids

It’s the joy of every parent to have a great relationship with their kids. So parents want to create that atmosphere where their children aren’t afraid to discuss anything with them, from their deepest anxieties to their biggest wins. 

You probably long for that kind of open parent-child communication, one where there’s no judgment. But where do you start? 

Conversation starters are a great way to engage your kids while spending quality time with them. Conversation starters aren’t yes-no questions. They’re open-ended questions. And one open-ended question can generate a series of follow-up questions that not only allow you to know your child better but to share their world with them. 

But there are even more reasons why conversation starters are great for parents and kids:

  • To develop critical thinking in your child (open-ended questions allow the responder to think deep and form sentences rather than a simple yes or no) 
  • Fostering emotional growth and empathy 
  • Engaging kids in heart-to-heart discussions
  • To encourage gratitude 
  • To bond on a deeper level.

Conversation starters aren’t the length and breadth of open communication, but they’re a crucial piece of the puzzle. They are even more important as your child grows into their teens when they start grudgingly answering your “how was school” questions as if they’re a bore. 

Below are some meaningful conversation starters that will help you get to the heart of your child. These questions are designed to get to know your child on an even deeper level and to discuss things you might not think about otherwise — things about resilience, critical thinking, and emotions, among others.

But before even asking any question, remember that there’s no such thing as a wrong answer. 

Chances are your kid will give an answer that’s far from your expectations. Rather than despise or disregard their unexpected response, ask follow-up questions to discover why they said so. 

So, without further ado, here are great conversation starters to spark communication with your kids. 

Conversation Starters to Know About Their Day

  • What was the best thing about today?
  • What did you enjoy learning today? What did you like about it?
  • What made you laugh today? 
  • How is (so and so)?
  • What was the worst thing about today? How can I help?
  • What are you excited about for tomorrow?

Conversation starters to Connect

  • What’s with your best friend that makes you like him/her so much? 
  • If you could be a superhero, what would your superpower be, and why? 
  • What is your favourite story genre? 
  • If you could time travel, where would you go? 
  • If you could be any storybook character, who would it be? 
  • What’s your favourite time of the year? 

Conversation Starters to Encourage Gratitude and Positivity

  • What made you happiest today? 
  • What’s the best thing you did this week? 
  • What’s the best thing someone did for you recently? 
  • What made you feel good today? 
  • What’s that one thing you could do without but are happy you have? 
  • What are you grateful for right now? 

Conversation Starters to Foster a Resilient Mindset

  • What are the times you needed help this week? 
  • When things get hard, what do you say to yourself? How do you keep going on? 
  • What’s that one thing you’re always proud of about yourself? 
  • What positive thoughts did you notice recently? 
  • How do you hope to make tomorrow an incredible day? 

Conversation Starters to Help with Emotional Growth

  • How do you show love to yourself?
  • What makes you feel loved? 
  • What makes you feel nervous? 
  • How do you cope with worries and anxieties? 
  • What kind of feelings do you find hard to let go of, and what kind goes on their own quickly? 
  • What would you do if your friend asked you to keep a secret that gets you uncomfortable? 
  • In what acts do you show your love to people? 
  • What’s that thing you’re really good at? 

Conversation Starters Develop Critical Thinking and Creativity

  • If you could solve one problem in the world, what would it be? 
  • What belief do you have that you think someone else might disagree with? 
  • If you could turn this table into anything, what would it be, and why?
  • If you could travel back in time, what would you prevent/change?
  • If you could go to the future, what would you like to see? 
  • When you become a grown-up, what’s the first thing you want to do? 

Start a lovely conversation with your child today!

Conversation starters aren’t exhaustive. You can form yours as the day goes by, as you walk with your child, drive them to school, or while watching TV together. 

Get to know your child, question them, and listen when they answer. And when they ask you, go ahead and answer, too. It will likely encourage them to open up more.

Need some Kids Life Coaching for your child? Speak to our Kids Life Coach for a FREE consultation.

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Mahika Rastogi
2022-11-29
Andrea is a great children's coach and my daughter was delighted to be coached by her. She is very intuitive and can read and understand children very well and has great techniques to give children the practical hands-on knowledge and skills that they need in life. Andrea's mindfulness meditations are amazing!!
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alicia chua
2022-11-25
We engaged Coach Andrea for my 12 year old at a point where my child was going through a period of emotional roller-coaster and often angry. Andrea is very kind, approachable, warm and patient that my child feels comfortable opening up to her. Having another adult, rather than us parents, to talk gave her a safe outlet. She taught my child useful life tools to help better manage her anger. We saw improvements and happy with the impact Coach Andrea had on my child. I would highly recommend Coach Andrea to any parent!
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2022-08-18
Rebecca has been a great help to me during my long and challenging fertility journey. From my very first session with her, I felt instantly at ease. Rebecca took great care to really understand my story, my journey so far, my disappointments and my hopes. I found her questions incredibly insightful and perceptive. Together, we uncovered a number of unresolved issues and she handled all our conversations with the utmost sensitivity and empathy. Rebecca is genuinely passionate about helping anyone with fertility issues and I have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone who is looking for someone authentic and caring to speak to.
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Eunice Chua-Sandri
2022-08-12
I was really struggling with stress and not knowing how to manage it effectively. It felt like everything was spiralling out of control and I was constantly reacting emotionally to situations. However, after just a few coaching sessions with Rebecca, I feel like I've turned a corner. She has helped me to see things (and myself) from a different perspective and given me lots of guidance on living a more purposeful and stress-free life. I'm now much more mindful of my thoughts and actions, and after implementing all the tools learnt in our sessions, I’m finally learning how to manage my stress and am feeling calmer and more in control than ever before. If you're struggling with stress, I would highly recommend Rebecca- she's truly transformed my life!
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Sandy
2022-06-23
My children, aged 11, did Life Coaching with Coach Andrea. Andrea has a soft touch - she was very approachable, gentle, kind and patient with them, offering valuable lessons on how to lead a healthy life, in both mind and body. The materials were presented in a fun way, in the format of games and videos, so it was understandable and digestible. Having another adult, rather than us parents, talk with the kids helped them be more receptive to all the topics too. The kids really enjoyed her pre-recorded meditations for night time to help them relax before bed. The pre-teen/teen years can be an emotional roller coaster ride for both kids and parents, but I feel that Andrea’s coaching (she even helped me with some great pointers) has really helped us prepare with valuable tools to better navigate what’s ahead! It’s definitely a worthwhile investment and would highly recommend to anyone and their kids!
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Nadia Ederer
2022-06-22
The moment I heard about Kids Life Coaching from Coach Andrea, I knew I had to sign my kid up for it. Coach Andrea helped to show my pre-teen the tools she needs to cope with all sorts of things life throws at her now, and prepare her for what it will throw at her in the future. I think it was a bit challenging to get things out of her in the beginning, but after building a relationship with her, it became easier. I recommend Kids Life Coaching with Coach Andrea strongly because it’s so important for kids to learn these coping tools, or as she puts it: Superpowers!
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Marisa Karplus
2022-06-22
Frolic for Life’s Kids Life Coaching with Coach Andrea was such a great experience for my pre-teen son. Coach Andrea helped him with a transition to a new school and then a transition to a new country one year later! It was so helpful for him to have so many tools in his back pocket to deal with all of the emotions and big feelings. Having an extra adult in his life who he could confide in and trust with his feelings was really important to us. Especially living far from extended family. He really appreciated the role she played for him and felt pretty cool having his own “life coach”. I highly recommend Coach Andrea. She is so excellent with this age group. She really knows how to talk to pre-teens and earn their respect and trust without judgement.
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