15 questions to ask a 8-year-old
Eight-year-olds can hold two ideas at once and enjoy a proper debate. They notice what adults do and have opinions about it. Ask hypotheticals and moral puzzles, then listen.
- 1Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? Why?
- 2What is something adults do that makes no sense?
- 3What is the most interesting thing you learned this year?
- 4If you started a business, what would it sell?
- 5What makes you feel left out?
- 6What does being a good sister or brother mean?
- 7What would you do if you saw someone being unkind?
- 8What is the best thing about our town?
- 9If you could fix one problem in the world, which one?
- 10What do you want to be really good at by the time you’re ten?
- 11What’s a question you have that nobody can answer?
- 12What would you want people to say about you?
- 13Which grown-up do you look up to, and why?
- 14If you could change one thing about today, what would it be?
- 15What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
How to get real answers
- One or two questions, not the whole list. It’s a conversation, not an interview.
- Ask side by side: in the car, at bath time, on a walk, at bedtime.
- Don’t correct the answer. You’re collecting how they think, not checking it.
- Write it down in their exact words, with their age. Ask the same question next year and compare.
cuote it
Keep what they answer, with their age on it.
Cuote keeps the funny things your kids say, and asks you a question like these on quiet evenings.
