3 Questions to Ask Your Kids At Bedtime

Hey there! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.

I love my kids more than anything. But I am also with them pretty much all day, every day. So bedtime is a great time of day. But I really try to end our days on the right foot. Even if it was a terrible day, and everything seemed to go wrong, and everyone was fighting all day – hopefully they can still go to bed with a smile.

For the last 6 months, I’ve asked my 4 year old and 3 year old three questions every single night while I’m tucking them in. And today, I’m sharing them with you! Asking these questions has been so good for our kids, and I hope it can help your family too!

Question 1: What was your least favorite part of the day?

There have been many times that I ask my kids this questions, and they bring up a situation that I didn’t even realize was a struggle for them. Sometimes I ask some follow up questions like “What do you think you can do about that? Would you like some ideas?” or “What could we do different next time that happens?” or we just talk through what happened. And sometimes my kids will say they don’t really want to talk about it more. I love that no matter how busy our day is, they always get a chance to tell me about what they are struggling with that day.

In our house, we actually say “What was your not favorite?” Our kids are 4, 3 and 1 so when I first started asking our oldest these questions, she didn’t quite understand what “least” meant. But she understood favorite vs not favorite. So we went with it, and it stuck! Use whatever wording works for your kids! Least favorite, worst, sad, etc.

Question 2: What was your favorite part of the day?

Isn’t it so fun to see the world through a kids eyes? That’s what I love about this question! Oftentimes when I ask my kids what their favorite part of the day is, their favorite is something that seemed so simple or mundane to me. I love hearing about those simple things that they loved about their day, especially if it is something I can incorporate into our days more often for them.

At bedtime, I like to always ask for their least favorite first. We can talk over their least favorite as much as they need, then end on a high note by moving onto their favorite moment of the day.

Just like least favorite, you might need to change the wording for your kids. I’ve heard some families call them their highs and lows of the day, failures and successes, etc. As long as it works for your family, it’s perfect!

Question 3: What are you grateful for?

Helping my kids to have an attitude of gratitude has always been very important to me. If you wanted to be great at shooting free throws in basketball, you would practice each day, right? I think the same thing applies to gratitude! If you want to be more grateful, the best thing you can do is to practice daily. For our kids, I ask them each night what they are grateful for that day. Right now, my kids usually say the same thing each night. They’ll say family, mom, dad or friends. But every couple weeks they have something specific from that day. Either way, they are practicing that attitude of gratitude and I know over the years that this will be so good for them!

Bonus: “Today I loved. . .”

This one isn’t a question, but it’s something I like to end the day on. After I’ve asked them their 3 questions, I tell each kid something specific from the day that I loved. Sometimes it’s “I loved when you helped me make dinner.” or “I loved playing in the snow with you.” or “That was so brave when you. . .” And sometimes it’s “You made me smile when you . . .” There are no rules here. Just something you loved that day.

I know that my kids love this! But honestly, this is mostly for me. There are days that I feel like I spent the whole day cleaning, yelling, cooking or just being a grumpy mom overall. And this really forces me to find the joy in each and every day no matter how good or bad.

Do you ask your kids any of these questions at bedtime, or anytime throughout the day? If not, are you thinking of adding any of these to the routine? Share in the comments what you do or what you will start doing! I can’t wait to hear from you!

One response to “3 Questions to Ask Your Kids At Bedtime”

5 Fun Lullabies To Sing To Your Kids That Don't Suck – Emily Brownfield

May 6, 2023

[…] looking for another fun bedtime tradition, check out my post from a couple months ago on the 3 questions I ask my kids as I tuck them in at night. Be sure to add any fun lullabies you sing in the […]

Reply