vocette
Questions

Questions for tonight.

A good question does the hard part. Pick one, answer it out loud or on paper in a couple of minutes, and tell one story. Each works for kids of any age, and none of them has a wrong answer.

The day they arrived

Birth, adoption or the first day they were yours. These are the stories only you can tell.

  1. What were you doing the hour before you met them?
  2. Who was the first person you told, and what did you say?
  3. What did they look like to you that first day, before anyone else had an opinion?
  4. Which names almost made it?
  5. What was the drive home like?
  6. What surprised you about the first night?
  7. What do you remember about the first week that nobody else saw?
  8. What's something about that day you've never told anyone?

Who they are right now

The things that change fastest, and the ones they won't believe later.

  1. What makes them laugh this month, the kind of laugh they can't stop?
  2. What are they worried about lately, even if it seems small?
  3. What's a phrase they say that's entirely theirs?
  4. Who is their best friend right now, and how do they talk about them?
  5. What would they eat every night if you let them?
  6. What are they proud of that they'd never say out loud?
  7. What do they do when they think no one is watching?
  8. How do they say goodnight?

Small ordinary things

The ordinary days are the ones that go first. Tell one before it does.

  1. What happened in the car today?
  2. What did they say at dinner that made you look up?
  3. What's the song they keep asking for?
  4. What's in their pockets or backpack right now?
  5. How do they walk into a room?
  6. What's the argument you keep having, and who usually wins?
  7. What does a regular Tuesday look like at your house this year?
  8. What made today a good day for them?

What you hope

Things you mean to say someday. Saying them now is allowed.

  1. What do you hope they never lose?
  2. What did your parents give you that you want them to have?
  3. What are you doing differently than you were raised, and why?
  4. When they're grown, what do you hope they remember about this house?
  5. What do you want them to know about how you love them?
  6. What's a mistake you made that you hope saves them one?
  7. Who do you hope they'll call when things are hard?
  8. What are you still learning from them?

Stories for later

Some answers are for when they're older. In Vocette, you can seal a story until their 18th birthday, or a day you choose.

  1. What do you want to tell them on their 18th birthday?
  2. What were you afraid of when they were small?
  3. What was the hardest year so far, and how did you get through it?
  4. What's a story about you they're not old enough for yet?
  5. What would you want them to know if they become a parent?
  6. What would you say to them on a day they feel lost?
  7. What do you see in them that they can't see yet?
  8. What are you proudest of them for, so far?

How to answer one

  1. Say their name first, and the date.
  2. Tell one story, not a summary. Where you were, what was said, how it felt.
  3. Stop when the story ends. Two minutes is plenty.

More on this in Questions to ask yourself about your kids, before you forget.

Tonight's question is waiting.

Vocette asks you one good question each evening. You answer out loud, for a couple of minutes. Years from now, your kids get to hear it.

Be one of the first to try it.

We're inviting parents to test Vocette on iPhone in small groups. Join the waitlist and we'll write as we invite more.

No spam. A thank-you now, an occasional letter with a question to try, and a note when it's ready.