2 min read

Getting Them to Talk!

Getting Them to Talk!

Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a grandkid only to get a "yes" or "no" answer? Is it hard to get your grandkid to talk to you at all? Maybe they are shy. Or, you just don't know how to get them talking. Hopefully this post will help.

When my son and his family lived far away from us, we liked to talk on FaceTime. My son would tell his kids to talk to grandma and grandpa. Then we would get the deer in the headlights look. If I had to do it over again, I would send a couple of questions to them ahead of time. That way they would have time to think about what they would say when the time came.

I think it's kind of the same when your grandkids live close and you want to have a conversation with them. It can be hard to get them to open up and give more than one word answers. You need to ask questions that take more than one word answers. Below are two lists. One for kids under 10 and one for teenagers.

Here are 10 questions to use to get a conversation going with kids under 10:

  1. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
  2. What is the best thing that happened to you today?
  3. What is your favorite toy or game? Why?
  4. What is your favorite food? Why?
  5. What is your favorite animal? Why?
  6. What is your favorite book or movie? Tell me about it.
  7. What is something you would like to learn how to do?
  8. What is your favorite place to visit?
  9. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
  10. What is your favorite thing to do with your friends?

Here are 10 questions to use to get your teenage grandkids to talk:

  1. What is something you're really passionate about right now?
  2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
  3. What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities to do in your free time?
  4. What is something that you feel really proud of achieving recently?
  5. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why?
  6. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing teenagers today?
  7. Who are some of your biggest role models or inspirations, and why?
  8. What is something that you've always wanted to learn more about?
  9. What are some of your favorite books, movies, or TV shows, and why do you enjoy them?
  10. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and why?

Obviously, you can adapt these questions to each grandkid depending on age and what you think they are interested in.

I haven't actually tried any of these with my own grandkids, but I plan to in the near future. The most important thing is to let your grandkids know that you care about them as individuals and you are interested in them and in their lives.