Time with your grandparents is precious and fleeting. Interviewing your grandparents is a great way to make the most of that time by getting to know them on a deeper level and creating memories with them. What are some good questions to ask your grandparents, and how do you go about interviewing them?
How Do You Interview Your Grandparents?
To interview your grandparents, prepare questions ahead of time. Asking them questions about their lives, childhood, family, and memories is a great way to get to know them better and have deep conversations with them. Avoid yes-or-no questions; instead, focus on questions that encourage your grandparents to share recollections about their lives.
Be sure to record your conversation so you can keep their stories alive when they’re gone. You can record a video or voice memo on your phone, write down your grandparents’ answers, or use an app such as FamilySearch Memories that makes it easier to preserve and share your conversations with family members.
Some tips to consider:
- Find a quiet, calm environment to interview your grandparents. Recordings will be better quality, and it will be easier to connect without distractions.
- Practice recording and saving memories before your actual meeting.
- If you choose to write notes instead of recording, find a way to store digital copies to avoid losing this invaluable conversation.
- If your grandparents have dementia, take extra care to be respectful and patient.
Questions to Get to Know Your Grandparents
If you want to get to know your grandparents better, ask open-ended questions that spark a conversation and prompt them to remember different aspects of their lives. Preparing a list and sharing some questions in advance of your visit can help you make the most of your time with them.
Note: Not all families are the same, and not all of these questions fit every possible familial situation.
In cases where a question may not be applicable to you, consider adapting the question to reflect your circumstances. For example, if the question asks about your experience as a mother or father and you don’t have children, think about any children in your extended family or in your community that you’ve been able to interact with. What were those experiences like? How have you mentored others who are younger than you?
These questions are only suggestions for what stories you could write—tailor the questions to your needs and focus on the stories you want to tell!
- What brings you joy?
- What have been defining moments in your life?
- What were you like as a child? Did you ever get in trouble?
- Who were your childhood friends?
- What were your favorite toys or gifts as a child?
- What was life like as a teenager?
- What can you tell me about major events that happened in your lifetime? (These events could include wars, major inventions, events such as the moon landing, and so on.)
- What hobbies have you enjoyed? Who taught you?
- What stage of life did you most enjoy and why?
- Can you tell me a funny story about your life?
- What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?
- Where was your favorite place to live?
- Can you describe a typical day when your kids were young?
- What were family dinners like? What foods did you eat, and who did the cooking?
- Do you have a funny story about your children?
- What difficult experiences have you been through, and how did you get through them?
- Can you tell me about some of your favorite memories?
- What accomplishments are you most proud of?
- Who have been the most influential people in your life?
- How has faith or religion played a role in your life?
- As you look back at your life, what stands out the most?
Questions to Ask Your Grandparents About Family History
Ask your grandparents about the important details of their life events and family to make it easier to learn more about your extended family. Your grandparents are an invaluable resource to unlock the past with living memories, details you would have to dig through historic records to find otherwise. See what you can learn from them and, through their memories, how you can gain perspective into the rich history of your family.
- What is your full name?
- How did your parents choose your name?
- When and where were you born?
- What was your childhood home and neighborhood like? Do you remember the address?
- Did your family ever move?
- What’s the most important thing your parents taught you?
- What were your parents’ names, and what can you tell me about them?
- What do you remember about your grandparents or great-grandparents?
- How many siblings did you have, and what were their names?
- Who were you closest to in your family?
- What stories do you know about our family history or where our family is from?
- What family heirlooms do you have? What are the stories behind them?
- How far back can you trace your family tree?
- When and where did you get married? What was your wedding like?
- Did you ever serve in the military? What were some of your experiences?
- Where have you worked, and what jobs have you done?
If you have the means, it’s worth considering a trip to some of the places your grandparents mention. Seeing places of heritage (such as childhood homes, graves, or even countries of origin) can bring your family’s story to life, opening deeper insights into yourself and your family.
Questions to Learn About Your Grandparents’ Relationship
The people around us often make the biggest impact on our lives, and the same is true for your grandparents. Learning about their relationship can open the door to deep and meaningful conversations. These are some good questions to ask your grandparents about their relationship, whether you are able to interview both or only one of them.
- When and where did you meet?
- What drew you to each other?
- What was your first date?
- How long did you date, and how did you propose?
- What do you remember most about your wedding day?
- Did you choose to get married? Why or why not?
- How many children did you have?
- How did you choose your children’s names?
- How has your relationship changed over the years?
- Where have you lived together?
- What family traditions did you carry on? What traditions did you create together?
- How did you celebrate the holidays together?
- What is your favorite memory together?
- What other friendships did you have?
- What advice do you have about relationships?
What Should You Do with the Interview?
Once you’ve interviewed your grandparents, take care to save the notes or recordings you have of your conversation. Digital copies on shared servers can prevent those precious moments from being lost if your notes or phone are misplaced or damaged in an accident or natural disaster.
With your interview saved, looking back on it can be a powerful way to reconnect with and remember your grandparents. Consider sharing the interview with family as well. FamilySearch Memories is an easy way to save and share interviews and photos with family.
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