Ask a kid how their day was and you get one word: “fine.” The right question gets a real answer. This is a working set of questions to ask kids, from quick get-to-know-you openers for a new class to the kind of question that gets a quiet kid talking at bedtime.
They are sorted two ways: by age, so the question fits where a kid actually is, and by moment, so there’s a set ready for the dinner table, the car, or the first day of school. Mixed in are fun questions to ask kids for an easy laugh, plus growth-mindset and feelings questions for the moments you want to go deeper.
How to use these questions
A good question only works if the moment is right. A few things that help:
- Don’t ask the second they walk in the door. Kids need a minute to land. Wait until snack, the car, or bedtime.
- Ask one follow-up. “Why?” or “What happened next?” turns a one-word answer into a conversation.
- Answer it yourself first. Kids often open up faster when an adult answers first. Say your own answer, then ask.
- Put the phone down. Eye contact tells a kid the answer matters.
- Let a pause sit. Silence is thinking time. Fill it too fast and the kid stops trying.
These work at home and in the classroom. A parent can use them at dinner; a teacher can use them at morning meeting or as journal prompts.
Like the idea of a question jar? Grab the free printable card set further down and cut out your favorites.
Questions by age
Kids answer best when the question matches their stage. Here are sets for three age bands, from preschool through the tween years.
Ages 3 to 6 (Preschool and Kindergarten)
Keep these concrete and playful. Little kids tend to think in concrete pictures more than opinions.
- What sound does your favorite animal make?
- What made you laugh today?
- If you could eat one food forever, what would it be?
- What is your favorite color, and where do you see it?
- Who did you play with today?
- What is your favorite thing to do outside?
- If your stuffed animal could talk, what would it say?
- What is the best part of going to bed?
Ages 7 to 10
This age loves opinions and “what if.” Give them room to invent.
- If you ran the school for a day, what is one rule you would change?
- What is something you are really good at, and how did you get good at it?
- If you could build any treehouse, what would be inside it?
- What is the best book or movie you know, and why?
- If you could trade places with any animal for a day, which one?
- What is something new you want to learn this year?
- If you found a hundred dollars, what would you do with it?
- What is the funniest thing that happened this week?
Ages 11 to 13 (Tweens)
Tweens shut down if a question feels like a test. Keep these low-pressure and real.
- What is something people get wrong about you?
- If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be?
- What is a rule you think is unfair, and why?
- What are you most looking forward to this year?
- If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?
- What is a skill you wish they taught in class?
- Who is someone you look up to, and what do you admire about them?
- What is something you have changed your mind about lately?
Get-to-know-you questions
These are the classic openers for the first day of school, a new group, or a playdate. They work as ice breakers because there are no wrong answers. For a new group, pair them with a round of two truths and a lie.
- What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
- What is your favorite book or movie, and why?
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
- If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- Who is a friend you like spending time with, and what do you do together?
- What is your favorite food, and what makes it so good?
- If you could be any animal, which one would you be?
- What is a memory that always makes you smile?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- What is something you are proud of?
- What is something you have always wanted to try?
- If you started a club, what would it be about?
Fun and silly questions to ask kids
When the goal is a laugh, not a lesson, reach for these. They are the ones kids bring up again at dinner. When they want a challenge instead, throw in some trivia questions for kids.
- What would you do if you had to wear your shoes on your hands?
- What flavor of ice cream would you pick for breakfast?
- If you had a pet dinosaur, what would you name it?
- What would you do if you woke up with purple hair?
- If you built a robot, what would it do for you?
- What food would be better if it were giant?
- If your house were made of candy, what part would you eat first?
- If your family were Disney characters, who would each person be?
- What would your pirate name be?
- If you could brew one magic potion, what would it do?
- What animal would each person in your family turn into?
- If you had a “yes” day, what would you do?
- What toy would you invent if you owned a toy factory?
- If you could add one new body part, what would it be and where?
Related: Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Would you rather questions
A quick set to get things going. Kids love defending a silly choice.
- Would you rather be a giant or be tiny?
- Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?
- Would you rather it always be summer or always be winter?
- Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?
- Would you rather eat only pizza or only ice cream for a week?
- Would you rather talk to animals or speak every language?
- Would you rather have a slide or an elevator in your house?
- Would you rather never have homework or never have chores?
Want more of these? A full would-you-rather set for kids is coming as its own list.
Dinner table questions
Dinner is the easiest daily slot for real conversation. Keep these light enough that nobody groans.
- What was the best part of today?
- Did anything surprise you today?
- What made someone else smile today?
- If you could plan tomorrow’s dinner, what would we eat?
- What is something kind you saw today?
- What was tricky today, and how did you handle it?
- What is one thing you are looking forward to tomorrow?
Bedtime questions
Wind-down questions work best when they are calm and a little reflective.
- What was your favorite moment today?
- What are you thankful for tonight?
- What is something you want to try again tomorrow?
- Who did you help today, or who helped you?
- What is a happy thing you want to dream about?
- What made you feel proud today?
Car and road-trip questions
Side-by-side in the car, kids often talk more than they do face to face. These fill the back seat.
- If this road went anywhere in the world, where should it go?
- What is the best trip we have ever taken?
- If you could design our next vacation, what would we do?
- What song should we play next, and why?
- What is the strangest thing you have ever seen out a car window?
- If you could only pack three things for a trip, what would they be?
Related: Pen and Paper Games for Kids
Growth-mindset questions
These get kids talking about effort, mistakes, and the things they are still figuring out, the heart of a growth mindset. They build the habit of seeing hard as temporary.
- What is something you are proud of accomplishing?
- What is something that scares you, and how do you handle it?
- What was challenging today, and how did you get through it?
- What is a mistake you made recently, and what did it teach you?
- Is there something you used to struggle with but are good at now?
- What skill are you working on right now?
- What is something interesting you learned this week?
- What is something you thought you couldn’t do, but did anyway?
- How do you help yourself when you feel frustrated?
- When you make a mistake, what do you do next?
Questions about emotions
Putting a name to a feeling makes it easier to handle. Keep a feelings chart nearby so kids have the words to reach for.
- What are some different feelings a person can have?
- What makes you feel happy?
- What helps you calm down when you feel upset?
- What is something that makes you feel proud?
- What is something that makes you feel nervous?
- How do you feel when you try something new?
- What makes you feel grateful?
- How do you feel when someone is kind to you?
- What can you do to help a friend who feels down?
- What is your favorite song, and how does it make you feel?
Questions about the world around us
These curiosity questions get kids looking outside themselves, at nature, weather, and how the world works.
- What is your favorite thing about the earth?
- How can we take care of the planet?
- What kinds of weather have you seen?
- What different habitats can you name, and what lives there?
- How do plants and trees help us?
- What are some ways people can make less trash?
- How can a whole class or family work together to help the earth?
- What is the coolest place in nature you have seen or want to see?
Deeper questions
When a kid is ready to go past the surface, these open the door to a deeper talk.
- If you could talk to anyone from history, who would it be?
- If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?
- What is one thing you would change about the world?
- What does being a good friend mean to you?
- What is something you are grateful for that money can’t buy?
Free printable question cards
Pick a handful of these, print the card set, and cut them apart. Drop them in a jar for the dinner table, a pencil box for the car, or a classroom question bowl for morning meeting.
The free set comes as two printable sheets, 24 cards in all, ready to print and cut. Sort by age band or shuffle them all together and let a kid pull one at random.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good question to ask a kid?
One that can’t be answered with yes or no. “What was tricky today?” pulls more than “Was your day good?” Open-ended beats closed, and a specific question beats a broad one.
What are fun questions to ask kids?
Silly “what if” questions: pet dinosaurs, candy houses, an extra body part. Low stakes and big imagination, and they usually spin into a longer conversation on their own.
How do you get a quiet kid talking?
Start with the fun and would-you-rather questions, not the deep ones. A kid who won’t answer “how do you feel” will happily argue about being a giant or staying tiny. Warm up with the silly ones, then drift toward real.
What are good questions to ask kids by age?
Concrete for ages 3 to 6, opinions and “what if” for 7 to 10, low-pressure for tweens. The sets above are split exactly this way.
What are good questions to ask kids at dinner?
Short, daily ones that don’t feel like a quiz: the best part of today, something surprising, one thing they look forward to tomorrow. There’s a full dinner set above.
More ways to connect
Questions are one easy win. When the talking winds down, keep hands busy with magna tiles building ideas or a batch of superhero crafts, and for the youngest kids, mix in some body parts activities or turn the evening into a family game night.
Print a few cards, keep them where the conversations already happen, and pull them out when “how was your day” stops working.