Every parent has been on the receiving end of a one-word answer. You ask your kid how their day was, and they generously offer that it was “fine,” “good,” or “OK.” It probably triggers your own single-word reaction, even if you don’t say it out loud: “Ugh.” “As parents, we’re desperate for information,” says Stevi Pucket-Perez, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Health in Dallas. “We want to know what our kids have been doing, what’s happening—we want in on their lives.” Advertisement