I have not asked any questions, but not because I think I have all the answers!

Question

Is it okay to ask opinion-based questions? For example, I'd love to discuss reward systems, discipline and allowances. There are other subjects that interest me as well. If I ask: How much should allowance be for primary school-aged children? Or why would a parent withhold allowance from a child? Am I on the right or wrong track?. Yes, I have my own opinions, but I do want to hear what other people think.

Also, if I want to respond and add to the person's opinion/answer with another point or question, is that when I take it to chat? Ha! And did I need to ask all of these questions separately?

Answer 1

Subjective questions are generally discouraged...

To prevent your question from being flagged and possibly removed, avoid asking subjective questions where …

• every answer is equally valid: “What’s your favorite ______?”
• your answer is provided along with the question, and you expect more answers: “I use ______ for ______, what do you use?”
• there is no actual problem to be solved: “I’m curious if other people feel like I do.”
• you are asking an open-ended, hypothetical question: “What if ______ happened?”
• your question is just a rant in disguise: “______ sucks, am I right?”

but there are ways to create a "good" (i.e. answerable) subjective question.

When you're discussing a subject that's heavily dependent on parenting style, societal norms, etc., it's extremely easy to just seek opinions. To push the topic more towards an objective, answerable question, make sure you're asking about the reasons behind a parent's particular stance.

• Not great: How much should allowance be for my child?
• Better: What factors should I consider when setting an allowance for my child?