40 Great Questions to Ask Grandparents
These conversation-starter questions and activities will keep kids and grandparents engaged when they can see each other in person.
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What is your favorite story about mom/dad?
Can you tell me about the day we first met each other?
Questions for teens (and adults, too!)
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Can you tell me about one of your happiest memories?
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Can you tell me about one of your most difficult memories?
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What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
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How has your life been different than you imagined?
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How has the world changed over the course of your life?
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If you could hold onto one memory from your life forever, what would it be?
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What do you feel most grateful for in your life?
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What is a family tradition that you hope I continue?
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How would you like to be remembered?
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What are your hopes for me?
Questions for Grandparents to Ask Kids
Getting kids to open up can sometimes be a challenge if their grandparents aren’t sure what questions to ask in return. Send this list of 17 conversation starters for chatting with kids to your parents to help give them ideas for how to keep their grandkids engaged.
Other Ideas for Kids to Connect with Grandparents
If the conversation still isn’t flowing, you might want to try an activity that can be adapted for socializing at a distance or done via video chat. Some kids have an easier time talking when they’re on the move.
Cook a family recipe together.
Grandparents and kids can cook together by following the same recipe—perhaps a traditional family one—in their separate kitchens. Or have your kids and their grandparents alternate who chooses a recipe to make each week, every two weeks, or monthly (whether a family favorite, a recipe that’s been passed down, or something new found in a cookbook or online).
Play an online game together.
Grandparents don’t need to be particularly technically savvy to play games online like Battleship and Connect Four. Older kids can play Scrabble, Words with Friends, or other word games with their grandparents online. And Uno is always a fun game, no matter the age!
Read a book together.
Reading is another activity that translates fairly well over a screen. Patient, attentive grandparents make an ideal audience for your emerging reader, or send some of your child’s favorite picture books to their grandparents for a read-aloud for younger kids.
Encourage your kids to try out different topics and activities with their grandparents to find the ones that click for them.