As much as you might want to know everything about your child’s day at preschool or child care, you may not always get the answers you want. We can give you tips and talking points on how to handle these conversations without overwhelming your child.
Timeline of Events at Preschool
It might be unnatural for your child to spontaneously recount all the activities that made up their day at preschool. Since figuring out and re-telling the order of events is still tricky for a toddler or preschooler in their stage of development, it’s helpful to have some conversation prompts to make more sense of what happened.
Be Specific With Your Questions
You can start by asking more specific questions instead of the more general “How was your day?” For example, you can ask questions like “What did you have for lunch?”, “Who did you play with today?”, “What kind of games did you play on the playground?” and “What was your favorite part of the day?” These questions might then spark other memories that happened around lunchtime, recess or other times during the day.
Avoid asking questions like “Were you a good boy/girl?” Instead try “Did you work hard at being a good listener and a nice friend today?”
Don’t Overwhelm Your Child
Sometimes, if you immediately start bombarding your child with questions after a long day at school, your child might shut down and refuse to share anything. Instead, let your child decompress after school, have a snack, get outside, play, and then try again. This way, they will be more relaxed and have more mental space to share what happened at school.
Your Child May Not Understand How to Handle Pressure
As a child gets older and into “school age,” they are more conscious of their parents’ investment in their academic and social progress. If you ask your child too many questions, they might feel like they are being judged and under pressure to be perfect. After all, they have already spent the whole day being independent and figuring out situations by themselves, which can be exhausting.
Give Your Child Space To Come To You
As we previously mentioned, your child will be worn out after a full day at school and will need time and space before opening up about things that happened. After doing this, create a safe emotional space so your child feels he can express themselves freely without being interrupted or put on the spot. They might even want to keep some things to themselves. These conversations usually go better when favorite snacks are involved!
Let the Caring Professionals at Creative Corner Child Care Center Help!
We understand that navigating your preschool child and their emotions can be tricky, so if you have more questions or need advice, don’t hesitate to ask! Our teachers and care providers are always willing to share details about your child’s day. You can also check out additional content on our website specifically geared towards toddlers and preschoolers.
