Forty questions to relatives to know our history

Knowing our family history is of vital importance to define our own identity. The family gives the individual a place in time and space, and its avatars help to know who we are and where we come from. Based on this definition, elements are available to draw up plans for the future and follow paths of success and learning.

When we know our family’s personal histories, we create a picture that helps us better understand the world around us and guides us in daily decision making regarding trust, problem solving, and communication strategies with other members of the family. society.

If there is an opportunity to talk with our relatives, especially those who are older, we can take some of the following questions as sources of inspiration to learn about our family history.

40 questions for your relatives

1. Does your name have any special meaning?
2. When and where were you born?
3. Did they always live in the same place or did they move?
4. Were there other family members in the area?
5. How was the house? Did you have electricity or phones?
6. Did you have a favorite place in that house?
7. What is your most distant childhood memory?
8. Describe the personalities of your family members.
9. What kind of games did you play when you were little?
10. What was your favorite toy and why?
11. What was your favorite activity to have fun?
12. Did you have family chores? What was your least favorite?
13. Did you receive a monthly payment, or an allowance?
14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects?
15. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
16. Do you remember any fashion from your youth?
17. Who were your childhood heroes?
18. What were your favorite songs and musical genres?
19. Who were your friends when you were little?
20. What world events affected you the most as a child? Did any of them personally affect the family?
21. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who was cooking? What were your favorite foods?
22. How were holidays celebrated in the family? Did they have special traditions?
23. How is the world today different from what it was when you were a child?
24. What do you know about the family name?
25. What stories do you know about your parents or grandparents?
26. Are there any stories about famous relatives in the family?
27. Is there any predominant physical trait that characterizes you as a family?
28. Are there heirlooms, photos, or other special mementos that have been passed down in the family?
29. When and how did you meet your spouse?
30. Where and when did you get married?
31. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
32. How would you describe your spouse? What do you admire most about him or her?
33. What do you think is the key to a happy and successful marriage?
34. How did you know you were going to be a father/mother for the first time?
35. Is there any meaning in the names of your children?
36. What was your proudest moment as a father/mother?
37. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
38. If you could have had another profession, what would it have been?
39. Of all the things you learned from your parents, what do you think was the most valuable?
40. What do you most want people to remember about you?

These questions can be the start of a richly detailed conversation that can highlight a whole host of interesting topics scattered throughout the family tree. Without having to lead amazing or fame-filled lives, family stories can surprise us. Being located in past times, the decisions or descriptions of that moment can be amazing for us in the present.

References

Torres, L., et al (2015). FAMILY DYNAMICS: IDENTITY FORMATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL INTEGRATION. Teaching and Research in Psychology. Available at: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=29242798008