Helping your child tell you about their day

“Did you have a good day?” “What did you do today?” “Did you have fun with your friends?” Sometimes, it’s hard for parents to get answers other than: “Yes.” “Nothing.” “I don’t know.” But talking about their days helps children develop their language skills. So, how can you help your child talk about what they did at daycare or at school?

Why should you encourage your child to talk about their day?

Asking your child questions about their day will encourage them to talk. When they tell you about something they did, your child is developing their vocabulary and practising forming sentences at the same time. They’re also learning to organize sentences in a logical way and to follow a sequence. What’s more, by asking questions and listening to their answers, you’re showing that you care about their experiences.

Being able to talk about their day will be instrumental to their academic success and social skills development. In general, children who are good at recounting their experiences or inventing stories socialize better and do better at school.

What to expect by age

For most children, the ability to tell stories develops gradually. Your child might start by talking about real-life events, such as an argument they had with a friend or how they had lunch with Grandpa, and then eventually share stories they’ve made up. At first, your child will need an adult to help them recount their day. Little by little, they’ll learn to do it on their own.

Here’s an overview of what your child might talk to you about based on their age:

• Around age 2: Your child is starting to talk about events in very simple terms, especially when something makes an impression on them. For example, they might say: “Victor made a boo-boo! Not nice!”
• Around age 3: Your child is able to speak more clearly about things they did that day, but they sometimes leave out important details. They’re able to talk about recent events more easily, but they might mix up the order in which they happened.
• Around age 4: Your child is more likely to organize their thoughts independently, without an adult’s prompting. They can produce longer, more complex sentences. For example, they might say: “We ate outside and then we played in the yard. Cedric cried because he fell down.” They can refer to past events more easily by saying when they happened in the day: “We did crafts in the morning.”
• 4 to 5 years old: Your child is able to talk about their day while making connections between events and following a certain order. They can give more information and talk about what they’ve done in more detail. They also have an easier time keeping up the back-and-forth of a conversation. However, your child may still have trouble with concepts such as yesterday or tomorrow.
• 5 to 8 years old: Your child can make connections between events and uses the right words to describe when things happened (e.g., “then,” “after,” “yesterday”). As they develop, their narratives will become more structured and detailed. They have a better sense of what the listener already knows and can adapt their story accordingly. For example, they might say: “After recess, Ms. Sophie read us a story. Then, we played hide-and-seek tag in the gym. Luka won because he’s the fastest!”

How to help your child tell you about their day

• Ask someone who was with your child to tell you about the major things they did that day. Doing so will make it easier to understand your child and ask them questions when they talk about their day.
• If your child’s daycare centre sends you pictures every day, you can use them to prompt your child. For example, if you get a picture of your child painting, you could ask: “What did you paint today?”

• Ask your child “this or that” questions, such as “Did you play with Charles or Elizabeth?” or “Did you go to the park or stay at daycare?”.
• Be specific. For example, ask your child: “Who did you play ball with?”, “Who made you laugh today?”, “Did you help someone at school?”, “Did someone hurt your feelings?”, instead of just saying:  “What did you do today?” or “Did you have fun with your friends today?”. Questions with a “yes” or “no” answer can also be useful in guiding the rest of your discussion.
• Help your child think of a short sequence of events that happened during the day, and then ask them to tell you more about it. For instance, you can say: “You got up, ate your cereal, and then what did you do?”
• Take pictures of your child during a routine and work together to put the photos in the right order, then describe what they’re doing. This activity will help them understand the concept of a sequence and encourage them to talk about what they do every day.
• Tell your child about the best parts of your day and then ask them to tell you about theirs. You can always go first to give them a model of what to do. This helps your child understand the kind of information they can tell you about their day. If you have more than one child, the older child can also act as a role model and talk about their own day.
• Use humour and whimsy to encourage your child to talk about their day. When they start understanding jokes, you can say things to make them laugh: “Did you eat a bowl of spaghetti or a piece of chocolate cake as big as the house?” This will encourage them to talk about what they’ve done.
• Turn off or put away screens while you talk about your day. Otherwise, your child may be distracted and less likely to talk to you.
• Read books to your child regularly. Ask them to tell you what happened in their own words. You can prompt them by asking who, what, where, and when. The pictures in the book can help them. Ask your child to predict the ending of the book or make up their own ending. Reading the same book more than once is beneficial for your child, as they grasp new elements of the story every time. Reading stories helps children learn how to structure a narrative (exposition, problem or inciting incident, climax, resolution).

Things to keep in mind

• Talking with your child about each of your days will help them learn to construct sentences and expand their vocabulary. It’s also a great way to show your interest in them.
• Your child’s storytelling abilities will develop bit by bit as they learn to situate events in time and adapt to their audience. This is crucial skill for socialization and academic success.
• You can help your child talk about their day by asking them what their favourite parts were and then sharing your own.

Scientific review: Agathe Tupula Kabola, speech therapist Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team Updated: May 2025

Photo: GettyImages/whitebalance.space