1 Question You Should Ask Your Child Every Day

Author Shana Noyes offers a weighty but lighthearted parenting guide with her new book, Get to Know Your Kid ($17). We talked to Shana, a mother of two, recently and she shared her three must-ask questions to help parents learn more about their children and chronicle their growth. Shana recommends probing your children for answers when they wiggle off your questions with short rebuttals and encouraging chatter and conversation daily. This includes asking the simple "What was the best part of your day today?" question — daily.

Shana shared, "Research shows that recounting good experiences imprints them on our minds and makes us happier people in general. You may not actually write down an answer every day, but just asking is what's important. Asking this question repeatedly — maybe at the dinner table or when tucking your child into bed at night — creates a routine in your child's mind and ideally becomes a habit that he or she will continue throughout his or her whole life. Life is a series of moments, and this question is a way to show your children how to isolate moments in their day and so that they learn to recognize and appreciate living in the moment."

We want to know: what questions do you ask your children every day, and how have their answers changed over time?