When Your Child Doesn’t Want to Talk About School

Does your tween shut down when you ask about their school day? Learn why it happens, how to open real conversations, and how Bloomster helps kids build empathy and self-awareness.

Why Tweens Go Silent

By middle school, kids are developing independence. They may not want to share everything, especially if the day was tough. Sometimes, “I don’t want to talk” is a sign they need space, or that they don’t yet have the words to describe how they feel.

Silence doesn’t mean they don’t care—it means they’re still learning how to express themselves.

3 Ways to Encourage Conversation

1. Change the setting. Instead of asking right after school, try talking during a walk, while cooking dinner, or in the car. Distraction can make kids feel safer to open up.
   
   
2. Ask specific questions. Instead of “How was your day?” try “What was the funniest thing that happened today?” or “Who did you sit with at lunch?”
   
   
3. Listen without fixing. Sometimes kids just want to be heard, not given solutions. A simple “That sounds tough” goes a long way.
   
   👉 Key takeaway: Connection happens when kids feel understood, not interrogated.
   
   Our Cultivating Empathy and Exploring You courses help kids:

• Build emotional vocabulary
  
  
• Understand their own feelings better
  
  
• Recognize how others feel
  
  
• Strengthen empathy and communication
  
  
  

When kids can name their emotions and see things from others’ perspectives,
they’re more likely to share what’s really going on.

👉 Try Bloomster free for 14 days and give your tween the tools to talk about what matters.

Free Resource for Parents

📘 Assessing Self-Awareness: A Guide for Parent-Child Conversations

This free ebook gives parents practical conversation starters to help kids reflect on their experiences, values, and emotions—making “How was school?” a question they can actually answer.