40 Questions to Ask Your Parents
Most of us know our parents as parents, but hardly as people. Whoever asks them about their first heartbreak, the dream they gave up, or the moment they were afraid for you for the first time, discovers someone they thought they already knew. These questions to ask your parents suit adult children and work with mother and father alike.
Do not ask all the questions at once. One question per visit or phone call is enough, and often a single one turns into a whole evening. Record the answers if your parents agree. With HYTCH you can share questions like these even when you are not at the same table.
The questions
Their youth
- 1
What was your life like at my age, and what would you have liked to know back then?
- 2
Who was your best friend as a child, and what became of them?
- 3
What did you dream of as a teenager?
- 4
What was your first heartbreak, and how did you get over it?
- 5
How did you meet my mother or my father, and what was your first impression?
- 6
What was the bravest thing you did before your 25th birthday?
- 7
Which music shaped you as a teenager?
- 8
What trouble did you give your own parents?
- 9
What was the happiest day of your youth?
- 10
Which decision in your twenties changed your life the most?
About being a parent
- 11
When were you truly afraid for me for the first time?
- 12
What was the moment you were most proud of me?
- 13
What was the hardest part of being a parent that you never told me?
- 14
What would you have done differently in raising me if you could do it again today?
- 15
What did I say or do as a child that you have never forgotten?
- 16
Which worry about me do you still have today?
- 17
What did you absolutely want to pass on to me, and did it arrive?
- 18
Was there a moment you thought you had failed as a parent?
- 19
What did you take over from your own parents without wanting to?
- 20
What would you like to apologise to me for, even if it was long ago?
Wishes and values
- 21
Which dream did you give up, and do you regret it?
- 22
What would you still like to learn or experience today?
- 23
What was the best decision of your life?
- 24
Which rule did you set for yourself that you still keep today?
- 25
What have you held on to all your life, even when others did not understand it?
- 26
What does family mean to you, in one sentence?
- 27
What have you learned in life that I should absolutely know?
- 28
Which piece of advice did you follow too late yourself?
- 29
What makes you happy today that did not interest you before?
- 30
What would you wish for the next ten years?
Between us
- 31
When did you last feel truly understood by me?
- 32
What do you wish from me but do not say?
- 33
What have we never talked about openly, even though we should have?
- 34
What about me reminds you of yourself?
- 35
In what way am I more like you than you would like?
- 36
How do you want me to care for you as you get older?
- 37
What do you want me to tell your grandchildren about you?
- 38
What was our best moment together, from your point of view?
- 39
What should I know about you before it is too late to ask?
- 40
Which question would you have liked to ask me but never dared to?