Porch Stories

Questions to ask · Childhood · for your Grandparents

What games did you play, and who did you play them with?

Why this question matters

Early memories are the ones that fade first, and nobody else can fill them in. Asking about the beginning gives them permission to go slowly, and one small detail usually brings ten more with it.

Ask it on a quiet afternoon, give time for the answer, and write down the small details. That is where the story lives.

  1. Were you ever in trouble as a boy? Tell me about one time.
  2. Who was the grown-up you looked up to most as a child, and why?
  3. When and where were you born? What were you told about the day you arrived?
  4. What was a normal day like for your family when you were a little girl?
  5. What did your mother cook that you still remember the taste of?

From the journal

Keep their answers in one book.

This is one of the 100 guided questions in Tell Me Your Story, Grandpa, Tell Me Your Story, Grandma. Every page has room to write the answer by hand.

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25 Questions to Ask Your Grandparents Before It’s Too Late

The questions families most wish they had asked, on one page to print or keep on your phone. Free when you join the porch list.