20 Questions to Ask Your Parents or Grandparents

It’s easy to see a parent as a one-dimensional figure limited to the role of “mom” or “dad,” forgetting that they had an entire life before you. We get caught up in the day-to-day noise of life, the transactional updates and small talk, or the habitual avoidance of controversial topics. If you are looking to get to know your parent in a new light, strengthen or reset your relationship, or maybe just connect your children to their grandparents, having some questions to start from can be invaluable.

The twenty questions below will open the door to new discoveries and a deeper understanding of your parents or grandparents. Choose a few for your next phone call, or print them out and use them at your next family gathering. Friends and family can all participate and you’ll be amazed at the new light through which you’ll see each other.

You may want to get the Remento book to capture and save these wonderful conversations with your parents and grandparents in a keepsake book.

20 Questions to Ask Your Parents or Grandparents

1. What were your favorite toys as a child and what were they like?
2. What did you eat for lunch at school as a child?
3. What’s the first major news story you remember from your childhood?
4. What was your favorite room in the house you grew up in? Did you have a secret hiding place?
5. What’s a song that you most associate with your teenage years?
6. What kind of future life did you dream about when you were young?
7. How did your relationship with your parents change as you got older?
8. What was the best thing about your wedding day? The most disappointing?
9. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned about love?
10. How have your views on love and marriage changed as you’ve gotten older?
11. How are you different from your parents?
12. How did you learn you were going to be a parent for the first time?
13. Tell me about the day I was born. How did you prepare for it?
14. What is the funniest story you have about being a parent?
15. What’s one of the more proud moments you can remember as a parent?
16. What’s one of the most memorable gifts you’ve ever received?
17. What is something that you learned after it was too late?
18. What’s the hardest choice you've ever had to make and who helped you make it?
19. What first exposure to a breakthrough technology will you never forget?
20. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time now?

Want to preserve their answers?

Remento's no-write life story books make it easier than ever to document family stories. With Remento, your parent or grandparent will be invited to record their answer to these questions (and more!) from any device - no downloads required. Then, Remento turns their recordings into written stories, each of which is printed into a hardcover, keepsake book. Read the book, or scan the QR codes within it to hear their voice. Learn more about Remento today.

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Next up: Tips for interviewing a family member.