Questions to Ask Kids About Their Grandparents
Questions to ask kids about their grandparents when you want the answers in the child's own words, for a Grandparents Day card, a birthday present or a page that goes in a drawer and gets funnier every year. They run in the order a small child can manage: easy facts first (what Grandma is called, how old Grandpa is), then their day, what they are good at and what they say, then time spent together and the lines for the card itself. The questions name Grandma or Grandpa in turn, so put in the name this child uses, and every group has at least one about the two of them together.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Basics
What do you call your grandma, and do you know her real name?
Why ask it
Open with this because every child knows the answer. Spell the name the way they say it, Gamma or Nonna or Mimi, and expect the guess at her real name to be "Grandma" again.
How old is Grandpa?
Why ask it
Write the number down with a straight face, whether it is 12 or 200. "Is that old?" is the follow-up, and the verdict usually makes the card.
How tall is Grandma?
Why ask it
Height in numbers means little to a small child, so you may get "ten pounds" or an arm stretched over the head. Write the gesture down as well: "up to here," with a word about where the hand stopped.
What does Grandpa look like?
Why ask it
Ask this just before the crayons come out, and the portrait on the card will match the description. A young child tends to name one feature and stop, his glasses or his beard or "soft," so use that word as the caption under the drawing.
What is Grandma's favorite color?
Why ask it
Expect the color of the sweater she wore last visit, or of her car. Use that crayon for her name on the front of the card, whatever she would have picked herself.
Where does Grandpa live?
Why ask it
Expect "far," "by the red door" or a street name long before a town. With a grandparent who is a plane ride away, the answer shows how the child pictures the distance, which is worth a line on its own.
Who is older, Grandma or Grandpa?
Why ask it
For a child with both in the picture. The ruling matters less than the evidence, so ask how they can tell: more gray hair, more birthdays, a slower walk up the stairs.
Who is the boss, Grandma or Grandpa?
Why ask it
Asked with a serious face, it gets a firm answer and a reason, and the reason is the part to write down. Save it for a card going to both of them.
Whose mom or dad is Grandma?
Why ask it
Plenty of young children have never connected Grandma to their own parent. A blank look is fine: explain it, then write down what they say next, because the moment it clicks is often funnier than any answer.
Was Grandpa ever a little boy, and what do you think he was like?
Why ask it
The first half can get flat disbelief from a three-year-old. Older children build him out of the family stories they have heard, so read the answer back to Grandpa and let him say how close it came.
Where do you think Grandma and Grandpa met?
Why ask it
Most children have never been told, so they invent it: at the store, at school, at a wedding. Leave space underneath for the grandparents to write in what really happened.
Their day
What does Grandma do all day while you are at school?
Why ask it
A retired grandma gets "naps," "waters the plants" or "waits for me." Swap "at school" for "at home" with a child too young for either, and take the first answer over a coaxed second one.
What is Grandpa's job?
Why ask it
If he still works, the description is usually pieced together from one look inside his truck or his office. If he has retired, ask what his job used to be. The child may never have been told, and "he mows" or "he was a boy" is still the right thing to write.
What do Grandma and Grandpa do after you go home?
Why ask it
The guesses usually fall into two camps: they go straight to sleep, or they sit and miss the child. Whichever you get, it reads well near the top of a card to the pair of them.
What does Grandpa like to eat best?
Why ask it
Often it is the one thing he is always seen eating, like peppermints or toast, or simply the child's own favorite. "How do you know?" brings out the scene at his table.
What is always in Grandma's kitchen?
Why ask it
The cookie jar, the candy dish, the cereal that is not allowed at home. Ask which cupboard it is in, because children usually know the exact shelf, and grandparents recognize the detail at once.
What does Grandpa watch on TV?
Why ask it
Ask whether the child is allowed to change the channel and you learn who holds the remote in that house. His programs tend to get filed under one heading, "the news" or "boring shows," and that verdict is the line to keep.
Where does Grandma always sit?
Why ask it
Many children can name the exact chair and who gets moved out of it. As a drawing prompt it beats a plain portrait: Grandma in her spot, with whatever sits on the table beside her.
What does Grandma and Grandpa's house smell like?
Why ask it
Children answer this one fast and without tact: cookies, the dog, coffee, "old." A blunt answer is still fond, but look it over before it is read aloud at a party.
What does Grandpa keep in his pockets?
Why ask it
Mints, keys, a folded handkerchief, coins that sometimes change hands. Use Grandma's purse for the other version. It has a factual answer, so it restarts a child who has gone quiet.
Good at
What is Grandma the best in the whole world at?
Why ask it
The size of the claim is the fun: best at pancakes, at finding a lost shoe, at hugs. Ask for one time she did it and add that in parentheses after the answer.
What is Grandpa not very good at?
Why ask it
Laugh along when it is his phone, his dancing or where he left his glasses. If the answer lands on his hearing or his walking, write it plainly and go to the next question without making it a joke.
What does Grandma cook or bake better than anyone?
Why ask it
One dish, nearly always, and the child can describe it down to the bowl. Find out what their own job is when it gets made, whether stirring, cracking eggs or licking the spoon.
What can Grandpa fix?
Why ask it
Push past "everything" to one repair the child stood and watched: the bike chain, the doll's arm, the stuck zipper. The named object is the part Grandpa will remember too.
What does Grandma know more about than anybody?
Why ask it
Follow with what the child would go to her to find out. The subject, birds or the weather or how things were long ago, is the compliment, and the question they would bring her is a small portrait of the two of them.
What did Grandpa teach you how to do?
Why ask it
Grandparents seldom know which lesson stuck, which makes this the line to build a thank-you note around. If the skill can be shown on the spot, a whistle or a card shuffle, film it and send the clip along with the card.
How fast can Grandma run?
Why ask it
Somewhere between "faster than a car" and "she doesn't." Follow with "faster than you?" and most children will settle the matter in their own favor. Leave it out if her walking is a sore subject.
What is Grandma better at than Grandpa?
Why ask it
Turn it around straight away and ask what Grandpa wins at, so each of them gets one when both will read the page. Children take the judging seriously, so allow a long pause before each answer.
Sayings
What is something Grandma says all the time?
Why ask it
Ask for it in her voice. Children copy the tune of a phrase as well as the words, so spell the stretched-out syllable the way it sounded and note who it is usually said to.
What does Grandpa say when you walk in the door?
Why ask it
A greeting is the easiest saying to recall because it happens every visit: "there's my girl," a remark about how tall they have gotten, a joke that never changes. It makes a good first line inside a card.
Does Grandma have a special name for you?
Why ask it
Pet names from a grandparent are often left over from babyhood or come from another language. Find out what the child thinks it means. Their explanation is seldom the real one, and both versions deserve a line.
What does Grandpa say when you ask him for a treat?
Why ask it
"Yes" is the classic, sometimes with "don't tell your mother" attached. Enjoy it as a joke on the page; taking it up with Grandpa afterward teaches the child not to answer next year.
What story does Grandma tell over and over?
Why ask it
Have the child tell it to you from the beginning. Their version will be shorter and scrambled, and that retelling is the keepsake, so do not straighten out the facts.
What does Grandpa sing, hum or whistle?
Why ask it
Take the title if the child knows it and the tune if they don't: have them sing a little and write down "the da-da-dum one." A lullaby in his first language goes on the page spelled the way the child pronounces it.
What do Grandma and Grandpa say to each other?
Why ask it
This is overheard material: "where are my glasses," "turn that down," "ask your grandfather." It is the funniest answer on a page for two, and the one to show another adult before it goes in front of a crowd.
What does Grandma say when it is time for you to go home?
Why ask it
Goodbyes at a grandparent's house tend to have a script: a rhyme, a wave from the porch, "one more hug." Because it is a farewell, it works as the last line on the page.
Together
What is your favorite thing to do with Grandpa?
Why ask it
It is seldom the big trip. A walk to get the mail or a turn on the riding mower is more typical, and telling Grandpa which small thing won is half the point of the card.
What do you get to do at Grandma's house that you can't do at home?
Why ask it
Tell the child up front that nobody is in trouble, and mean it, or the answers dry up. Whatever comes out, a late bedtime or cartoons before breakfast, goes on the page as a compliment to Grandma's house.
What games do you and Grandpa play?
Why ask it
Ask who wins, and whether Grandpa lets them. If it is a made-up game with a name only the two of them know, write the rules down as far as the child can explain them.
Where do you and Grandma go together?
Why ask it
Listen for the errand more than the outing: the library, the hardware store, the one donut shop. A place name on the card gives Grandma something exact to smile at.
What do you show Grandpa when you talk on the phone or a video call?
Why ask it
Written for the grandparent who is mostly seen on a screen. A small child on a call tends to hold things up to the camera (a loose tooth, a drawing, the cat), and listing those lets a faraway grandpa have as full a page as one who lives down the street.
What jobs does Grandma give you when you visit?
Why ask it
Children are proud of these, so write the job as a title, Official Egg Cracker or Holder of the Flashlight, and it may be the line Grandma reads out twice.
Can you tell me about something funny that happened at Grandpa's?
Why ask it
A story prompt for children of about five and up; with a younger one, leave it out. Type or write it as told, with every "and then," and resist tidying the order of events.
How do you make Grandma laugh?
Why ask it
It puts the child in charge of the joke. Ask for a demonstration, then describe the face or the dance in brackets next to the answer.
What happens when you sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's?
Why ask it
Walk through it in order: which bed, who does the tucking in, who is up first and what is for breakfast. If the child has never stayed the night, ask about a whole day there instead.
What do you want to do with Grandma the next time you see her?
Why ask it
This one turns the card into an invitation. Copy the plan onto the last page in the child's words, and then it is up to Grandma to say when.
Card lines
What makes Grandma happy?
Why ask it
"When I come over" is the answer grandparents hope for, and it often arrives without any help from you. If the child names something else, her garden or a quiet house, keep that instead: the true answer reads better than the sweet one.
How do you know Grandpa loves you?
Why ask it
You are asking for evidence, and children supply it: he saves the last cookie, he comes to the games, he lets them win. Stay quiet while they think, since any hint from you comes straight back as the answer.
Why do you love Grandma?
Why ask it
The first reply is often "because." Say "what else?" once and stop there. One real reason in the child's words outweighs three you drew out of them.
If you could give Grandpa any present in the world, what would it be?
Why ask it
It will probably be something the child wants: a dinosaur, a trampoline, a puppy. Have them draw it on the card so the present is, in a way, delivered.
What do you miss about Grandma when you have not seen her for a while?
Why ask it
Best with a grandparent seen a few times a year. What gets missed is usually physical, like her lap, her dog or her pancakes. If the question makes the child sad, stop there and arrange a call.
When you are a grandma or grandpa, what will you do with your grandkids?
Why ask it
The answer is a job description for grandparents as this child sees it: candy, stories, no bedtime. Put it last on a keepsake page and ask it again next year to see what has changed.
What should I write to Grandma and Grandpa at the bottom of the card?
Why ask it
Handing over the sign-off lets the child dictate it. Take it down exactly, including "the end" or a list of everyone in the house, and let them add their own name or mark.
How to run the grandparent interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Setting it up
Use the name the child uses
The questions say Grandma and Grandpa in turn. Read them aloud with whatever this child actually says, whether that is Nana, Pop, Abuela or Grandpa Joe, and switch any question to the other grandparent as you go. A child who hears the wrong name will often stop to correct you and lose the thread.
One grandparent, the pair, or both sides
For a card to one person, ask every question about that person and skip the ones that set Grandma against Grandpa. For a couple, keep those in: who is older, who is the boss, what they say to each other. With two sets of grandparents, run two short interviews on different days so the answers do not blur together.
Choose ten to fifteen
Few children under seven will sit through the whole list. Take two or three from each group, make sure the age question and one of the Sayings are among them, and end with one of the Card lines. Mark your picks before you start so you are not scrolling while the child waits.
Keep the grandparent out of earshot
Ask when Grandma is not in the room and not on the call. Children look to the subject for the right answer, and a grandparent can hardly help mouthing it. The surprise of reading the page later is also most of the present.
Getting the answers on paper
Take it down as spoken
Write exactly what the child says, including the invented words, the wrong grammar and the answer that has nothing to do with the question. A phone recording helps if they talk fast: transcribe it afterward and keep the audio for the family. Put the child's age and the date at the top, because the page gains most of its value a few years on.
Let the wrong answers stand
Grandpa is not 14 and Grandma does not live at the grocery store, and that is why people frame these pages. Keep your face still, hold the laugh and do not offer the real figure. A child who sees that some answers are funnier than others starts performing, and the answers get worse.
When you get a shrug
"I don't know" is common in the Their day group. Try once with something smaller, such as what Grandma was doing the last time they saw her, then write the shrug down or move on. An empty line is better than an answer you supplied.
Turning it into the card
Copy four or five answers onto the card with the question above each one, or print the full interview and have the child decorate the border. Let them sign it, even if the signature is a scribble. For a keepsake book, ask the same ten questions each year and keep the pages together.
What each age can do
Twos and threes
Stick to Basics and a few from Their day, five or six questions in all. Answers will be one word, and pointing counts. Ask while they are busy with blocks or a snack; a toddler sat down for an interview tends to leave.
Fours to sixes
The age these interviews are known for: confident numbers, exact quotations and no filter. Sayings and Good at pay off most. Ten to fifteen questions is about right, and a break for the drawing in the middle buys you five more.
Sevens and older
They know Grandpa's real age and will not be led into a funny one, so lean on Together and Card lines, which ask for memories and reasons. Many will prefer to write their own answers. Offer the questions as a sheet and stay nearby for spelling.
Classrooms, and families where it is not simple
With a whole class
One adult cannot scribe for twenty children in a morning. Pick six questions and send the class through in small groups with a helper, or have older students interview younger ones. Before you start, find out quietly who each page is going to, so nobody is left without a person to answer about.
Open it to anyone who is like a grandparent
Some children have no living grandparents, have never met them, or do not see them. Offer a great-aunt, a neighbor or a family friend as a choice from the first sentence of the activity, not as an exception made in front of the group. The questions work unchanged with any name in them.
A grandparent who has died
A child may want to answer about a grandparent who has died, and may slip between is and was. Follow their lead and write it as they say it. Leave out the questions about next time, and if you are the teacher, tell the family what the child made before it comes home in a backpack.
Check it before it is read to the room
A card opened at a party gets read to everyone there. Go through the page first for anything that would embarrass someone, such as a remark about money, an argument or a health problem, and keep that line for the family copy. The child's words stay as they are; you are only choosing which ones go on the card.