provide a special opportunity for kids to dive deeper into their family background. For example, they can write an essay about a grandparent or aunt, write and direct a play with siblings, make a scrapbook, read history or novels to study events that took place during a specifi c time period, write a song or story from the ancestor’s point of view, research and draw a family tree or create a mini-documentary based on an interview with an older relative. T is is the quiz used in family narra-


tive research, but Fivush cautions that the 20 questions are only a starting point, and many more can be created. Nor does get- ting the facts exactly right matter—those can easily be in dispute among family members. “It is the telling, the sharing and the listening that is more important than the story itself,” she says.


Do you know how your parents met?


Do you know where your mother grew up?


Do you know where your father grew up?


Do you know where some of your grandparents grew up?


Do you know where some of your grandparents met?


Do you know where your parents were married?


Do you know what went on when you were being born?


Do you know the source of your name?


Do you know some things about what happened when your broth- ers or sisters were being born?


Do you know which person in your family you look most like?


Do you know which person in the family you act most like?


Do you know some of the illnesses and injuries that your parents expe- rienced when they were younger?


Do you know some of the lessons that your parents learned from good or bad experiences?


Do you know some things that happened to your mom or dad


when they were in school?


Do you know the national or ethnic background of your family?


Do you know some of the jobs that your parents had when they were young?


Do you know some awards that your parents received when they were young?


Do you know the names of the schools that your mom went to?


Do you know the names of the schools that your dad went to?


Do you know about a relative whose face “froze” in a grumpy position because he or she did not smile enough?


Ronica A. O’Hara is a Denver-based health writer. Connect at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.


Getting Started with Family Narratives


Read more about family narratives at Robyn Fivush’s Psychology Today blog: PsychologyToday.com/intl/blog/the-stories-our-lives


Ideas for writing and craſt projects: Tinyurl.com/ CreatingAFamilyNarrative


Questions kids can ask family grownups: Tinyurl. com/ClassroomRoots


June 2020


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jannoon028/Shutterstock.com


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