It is important for me as a mom to communicate with my daughter so she will feel comfortable talking to me and so I can stay aware of what is going on in her life. I'm hoping that by doing this now, when she's 8 and in elementary school, that she develops the habit of talking to me about what's going on in her life. Before I know it, she will be a teenager and there will be more important things going on in her world and I want her to trust me and feel comfortable talking to me.

Keeping communication open between yourself and your child is so important, especially when they are in school and away from you for hours each day. You have to make them feel comfortable talking to you so that if something important happens, they will feel like they can come to you.

I learned the importance of this when my daughter was in kindergarten and was assaulted by another student. I was lucky she felt comfortable coming to me and it really made me aware of the importance of talking to her about things on a daily basis. Now, not all days does she have a lot to say, but I still go through the same questions and if she wants to elaborate on some answers I'm there to listen. The questions I ask help me to keep informed on what is happening in class, who she's getting along with and who she isn't getting along with. If she's having problems with another student I don't necessarily need to get involved but I can help her come up with solutions and step in if things start getting out of control.

Now, my daughter is a talker and I understand not all kids are but I think you should still aim to ask two or three questions a day just to know what's going on in your child's day. There are lots of questions to ask kids but these are just the ones I use. Use whatever question work for you and your kids. The important thing is just to start talking to them on a regular basis.

These are my typical questions?

1. Who did you sit with at lunch? What did you talk about?

2. What was your favorite part of your day?

3.What was the worst part of your day?

4. What did you have for lunch? (If it was a school lunch day.)

5. What did you do and who did you play with at recess and lunch?

6. Tell me something new you learned today?

7. Did anything special happen today?

8. How was (enter a friends name) day? Did you two play together today?

9. Did your teacher read a book today? What was it about?

10. What are you doing in class tomorrow?

So what questions do you ask? Are your kids big talkers, like mine?

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Karissa Ancell's blog, A Fresh Start. It has been modified and republished here with permission.