36 Questions to Ask Your Grandparents

Grandparents hold the parts of the family story no one else can tell - where you came from, what your own parents were like as children, and firsthand memory of a world that no longer exists. This is a ready-to-use list of meaningful questions, grouped by theme, to help you capture their stories and their voice while you still can.

How to use this list

Do not treat it like an interview. Pick one or two questions at a time - over dinner, on a drive, while cooking - and let the answers wander. The goal is not to get through the list; it is to get them talking. And if you can, record the conversation rather than just writing it down. A voice carries what a transcript cannot.

1. A different world

Grandparents grew up in a world that no longer exists. These questions reach for what only they remember.

→What was the world like when you were my age?
→What did a normal day look like when you were growing up?
→What did things cost, and how did people get by?
→What is the biggest change you have witnessed in your lifetime?
→What technology amazed you most when it first appeared?
→What do you miss about the way life used to be?

2. History they lived through

→What major event from history do you remember living through?
→Where were you, and what was it like to be there?
→How did the big events of your time change your family?
→Is there a moment in history people misunderstand because they were not there?
→What were people most afraid of back then?
→What gave people hope in hard times?

3. Our family roots

→What do you know about where our family originally came from?
→Who was the first in our family to come here, and why did they come?
→What were your own parents and grandparents like?
→What does our family name mean, or where does it come from?
→Is there an heirloom or object that carries a story worth knowing?
→What part of our family history might be lost if you did not tell it?

4. My parent, as a child

Grandparents hold the one story your parents cannot tell you - their own.

→What was my mom or dad like as a little kid?
→What is a story about my parent that they would never tell me themselves?
→What did you worry about most when raising them?
→When did you feel proudest of them?
→Which of their traits did they have even as a child?
→What do you hope they passed on to me?

5. Love, work, and a long life

→How did you and Grandma or Grandpa meet?
→What was your wedding day like?
→What work did you do, and what are you proudest of?
→What is the secret to staying together for so long?
→What was the happiest period of your life?
→What surprised you most about growing old?

6. Wisdom to pass down

→What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
→What do you wish your generation had been told?
→Which traditions do you most hope we keep alive after you?
→What do you want your great-grandchildren to know about you?
→What is the one thing you want this family to always remember?
→How do you most want to be remembered?

Don’t just ask - capture the answers

Asking is only half of it. The answers are what you want to keep - and there are three ways to do that, from least to most lasting:

1.
Write it down. Better than nothing, but you will only catch a fraction - and you lose the voice entirely.
2.
Record audio or video. Far better - it keeps their actual voice, their laugh, their way of telling a story. A phone voice memo works.
3.
Turn the answers into something you can talk to. This is what Avataari is built for. Its Life Stories feature guides your grandparent through questions like these, then preserves the answers in their own cloned voice as an interactive biography - so your family can ask a new question and hear the answer in their voice, years from now.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best questions to ask your grandparents?

The most valuable questions reach for what only they can answer: the world they grew up in, the history they lived through, where the family came from, and what your own parent was like as a child. Grandparents hold the parts of the family story no one else can tell, so prioritise roots, era, and firsthand history.

Why is it important to ask grandparents these questions now?

Because they carry living memory that disappears with them - family origins, what your parent was like as a kid, and firsthand accounts of history you can only get from someone who was there. The best time to capture a grandparent’s stories is while they can still tell them.

How do I record my grandparents’ answers so they last?

Record audio or video rather than only writing notes - it keeps their voice, accent, and the way they tell a story. Even a phone voice memo works. Tools like Avataari go further and preserve their answers in their own cloned voice as an interactive biography your whole family can talk to for generations.

What’s the best way to record grandparents’ stories?

There are three ways, from least to most lasting. A voice memo on your phone captures the moment but gets buried in a drawer. A filmed interview is better but rarely rewatched. The most lasting is to turn their spoken answers into an interactive biography in their own voice - so instead of a recording no one revisits, your family can ask new questions and hear grandma or grandpa answer in their voice for years. Guide them through a few questions at a time and record as you go rather than trying to capture everything in one sitting.

How do I get a quiet grandparent to open up?

Start with specific, low-pressure memories rather than big abstract questions. "What did a normal day look like when you were young?" is far easier to answer than "tell me about your life." Bring an old photo, ask one question at a time, and let the stories wander.

Family Stories

No credit card required. Start with one question.