Five Questions to Ask Your Kids at Bedtime

As our kids get older, bedtime changes. Our four and six year old still share a room and we all do bedtime together, and we’ve recently started having a conversation as we all sit in their bed. My husband and I ask our kids five questions – we help the kids fall asleep full of pride and self love, we learn more about our children, and it’s a great screen-free way for them to get ready for rest! Read on for our prompts of five questions to ask your kids at bedtime.

It’s not for everyone, and that’s ok. But our kids love sharing a room – read all about that here.

And before our kids shared a room, we bedshared. I wouldn’t have it any other way! See why here.

As our kids have stopped breastfeeding (and sleeping in our bed), we’ve tried lots of strategies to help them go to sleep without anxiety and loneliness. Having this little question-led conversation can seem a bit repetitive, but we get to have a little family discussion before turning out the lights. And it’s really helpful for your kids to unwind at the end of the day.

I’ll also say as a mom who’s taught teenagers for years, that I always want to keep communication open between my kids and I. I feel like asking these five questions helps me learn about my children: what makes them proud, feel ashamed, what they look forward to, and how they’re growing as a unique individual. 

*What was something fun that happened today?

*What made you sad/upset/disappointed/ashamed?

*What is something that you’re looking forward to?

*What is something you learned, or something new that you did?

*What are you proud of?

Of course you can edit the questions as you want. You can choose to only ask a few per night (which we sometimes do in case bedtime is running late, oops!).

Finally, consider printing out the questions and putting them by your kid’s bed, or next to the light switch. Once you get into the habit of asking these questions to your kids at bedtime, they’ll probably remind you if you forget! It’s a great way to bond with your kids at the end of a busy day, for you all to decompress, and to help your children fall asleep feeling loved and listened to.

Let me know in the comments what you do for bedtime, and what you think of these five questions to ask your kids at bedtime!

You can also get my prompts for making up a great bedtime story here.