125 great questions to help you bond with your teen

When you're raising a teenager, it can sometimes feel like you're speaking different languages. You ask how their day was and get a shrug. You try to dive into deeper topics and get a one-word answer. It's not that teens don't want to talk—it's just that starting the conversation can be tricky.

Open-ended, thoughtful questions can help your teen feel seen and heard. And the more consistent these check-ins are, the more likely they are to open up over time.

To make things easier, we've gathered 125 questions to ask your teen. They're grouped by category so you can find the right one depending on your mood, moment, or mealtime.

Get-to-know-you questions for teens

1. What does your perfect day look like?

2. Who do you admire most and why?

3. If you could live anywhere for a year, where would it be?

4. What do you wish more adults understood about teens?

5. What’s your favorite way to spend a weekend?

6. Do you like being alone or around others more?

7. What’s something small that always makes you smile?

8. What’s your go-to comfort food?

9. Which app do you use the most?

10. What makes you feel proud of yourself?

Conversation starters about school and goals

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1. What’s the best thing that happened at school this week?

2. If you could design your own class, what would you teach?

3. Do you feel like your teachers understand you?

4. Is there a subject you wish you never had to take again?

5. What are you most excited to learn this year?

6. What does success mean to you?

7. How do you like to study best?

8. What motivates you to do well?

9. Do you think grades are a good way to measure learning?

10. What are your biggest goals right now?

Questions about friendships and relationships

1. Who do you feel most yourself around?

2. What makes someone a good friend?

3. Have you ever had to end a friendship? What happened?

4. What do you think makes a relationship healthy?

5. Is it easy or hard for you to trust people?

6. What do you value most in your friendships?

7. Do you think social media helps or hurts relationships?

8. How do you show someone you care?

9. What does loyalty mean to you?

10. Do you feel like you can talk to your friends about anything?

Deep questions to spark meaningful conversations

1. What’s something you’re afraid to fail at?

2. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

3. What does happiness mean to you?

4. What’s a belief you hold strongly?

5. Do you ever feel pressure to act a certain way?

6. How do you handle stress?

7. Have you ever had to stand up for yourself?

8. What do you want your future to look like?

9. When do you feel most at peace?

10. What do you think it means to be a good person?

Just-for-fun questions to make you both laugh

1. If you could switch lives with a movie character, who would it be?

2. Would you rather have to sing everything you say or dance everywhere you go?

3. What’s the weirdest food combo you love?

4. What’s a talent you wish you had?

5. If you had to be stuck in a video game, which one would you pick?

6. What’s the most random thing you’ve ever Googled?

7. If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?

8. What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

9. Would you rather time travel to the past or the future?

10. What’s a meme that never fails to make you laugh?

Money and responsibility questions

1. How do you define financial independence?

2. What’s something you’d save up for if you had a job?

3. Do you think schools should teach personal finance?

4. Would you rather earn an allowance or work for your money?

5. What does being responsible with money look like to you?

6. Have you ever made a big purchase you regretted?

7. Do you like the idea of budgeting your own money?

8. How would you split $100 between saving, spending, and giving?

9. What do you think it takes to be financially secure?

10. How do you feel about borrowing and lending money with friends?

Questions about family and home life

1. What’s your favorite family memory?

2. What’s one tradition you hope we always keep?

3. Do you feel like you can be yourself at home?

4. What’s one way we could improve how we communicate?

5. If you had to describe our family in three words, what would they be?

6. What do you wish we did more of as a family?

7. What do you think makes a strong family?

8. Do you like having siblings (or being an only child)?

9. How do you feel about chores and responsibilities at home?

10. If you could redecorate your room any way, what would you do?

Future-focused questions

1. Where do you see yourself in five years?

2. Do you want to go to college, trade school, or do something else?

3. What kind of job would you love to have someday?

4. Do you see yourself living near or far from home?

5. What are you most excited for about adulthood?

6. What worries you about the future?

7. What kind of impact do you want to have in the world?

8. Would you ever want to start your own business?

9. What does "success" look like in your dream life?

10. What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

Social media and tech questions

1. What do you like most about being online?

2. What’s your favorite social media app and why?

3. How do you decide what to post?

4. Have you ever taken a break from your phone?

5. Do you think it’s easy or hard to spot misinformation?

6. How do you feel after scrolling for a long time?

7. Do you think social media makes life better or worse?

8. How do you handle online drama or negativity?

9. Would you rather give up your phone or TV for a month?

10. What’s one tech tool you couldn’t live without?

Pop culture and interest-based questions

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?

2. Who’s your favorite artist or band right now?

3. What show are you currently binge-watching?

4. What’s a trend you think is overrated?

5. What podcast or YouTube channel do you love?

6. What’s a hobby you want to try?

7. If you could attend any event in the world, what would it be?

8. Do you prefer reading, watching, or listening to content?

9. What’s one thing you think everyone should try at least once?

10. What’s something you’re really passionate about?

Self-reflection questions

1. What are you most proud of yourself for?

2. What’s something you’ve learned the hard way?

3. How do you recharge when you're feeling drained?

4. What’s something you’d like to improve about yourself?

5. How do you handle criticism?

6. What’s a recent accomplishment that felt meaningful?

7. When do you feel the most confident?

8. What are your core values?

9. What helps you bounce back after a tough day?

10. How do you define self-respect?

Would-you-rather questions

1. Would you rather have super speed or super strength?

2. Would you rather explore space or the deep sea?

3. Would you rather be famous or anonymous?

4. Would you rather have a rewind or pause button for life?

5. Would you rather never use social media again or never watch TV again?

6. Would you rather have unlimited free travel or unlimited free food?

7. Would you rather go to school in person or virtually?

8. Would you rather live without music or without movies?

9. Would you rather win the lottery or find your dream job?

10. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak every language?

Quick-fire questions to end the day

1. High or low of the day?

2. Sweet or salty snacks?

3. Favorite time of day?

4. One word to describe today?

5. Something you’re looking forward to tomorrow?

Talking to your teen doesn’t have to be a guessing game. The right question can open the door to a real connection and a stronger bond. Whether you're checking in during a car ride, at dinner, or while walking the dog, try using a few of these to spark deeper conversations and keep the dialogue flowing.

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This blog post is provided "as is" and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Some content in this post may have been created using artificial intelligence; however, every blog post is reviewed by at least two human editors.

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