How to Get Kids Interested in Family History

The makeup of the family unit is constantly changing. People are having children later in life, and that sometimes means kids don’t get a chance to personally know their grandparents. Other times, people uproot and move to other parts of the country, so time to get together with cousins, aunts, and uncles is few and far between. With all this separateness, it can sometimes be difficult to get your kids interested in the history of your family. However, children can still learn from family members they don’t see or have long passed on. How? By getting your kids involved with your one-of-a-kind family history. Here are some suggestions on how to get started.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Find Out About Family Memories So You Can Share Them With Your Child Brush up on your own family knowledge. Before you can tell your kids about their relatives, you’ve got to be familiar with them yourself. If you aren’t sure about your ancestry, call up that long lost aunt or uncle and find out. Many times family history gets lost, not because the older relatives don’t want to talk about it, but because the younger generation simply doesn’t care to hear. Pay close attention to the stories they tell, and ask questions about the details of their life. You’d be surprised at how much closer you’ll be to grandparents and great aunts and uncles simply by finding out about their individual adventures.
2. Talking About Relatives Can Help Your Child Get to Know Them Talk openly about your long-lost relatives. Instead of sitting children down to hear about their family past, use everyday moments to continually reflect on your relatives. Point out places your grandparents danced at, tell your child how the way they set the table reminds you of your grandma, or talk about the time Uncle Ed hid in the bathroom to skip haircuts while he was in the service. Make the people of your past a part of your present simply by remembering them often and telling your kids. Doing so provides a natural way for your child to feel close to their relatives and even learn the lessons they were meant to teach us.
3. A Picture Wall Can Be a Wonderful Way to Display Family History Display family heirlooms and knickknacks. Sure, Aunt Mary might have got all the good family furniture, but it doesn’t mean you can’t display a picture wall with family photos or those potholders that grandma tatted. But special items in a shadow box and keep them out along with other accessories so your children can see, and talk about them, often.
4. Change a Board Game to Include Questions About Your Family Make a game of it. Play “Jeopardy” or “Wheel of Fortune” with family names, stories, and events. Make up tee shirts with family members pictures on them. Put a note in each Christmas stocking with the first half of a family story and see if your child can fill in the rest.
5. Making Family Recipes and Patterns Keeps Family Tradition Going Keep up family recipes, patterns, and behaviors. Show your children how to crochet and have them make the same afghan grandma used to make. Use Aunt Edna’s cranberry’s recipe at Thanksgiving, and tell your child about how she came by it. Say grace the way Uncle Jerry did or sing the same song grandpa did every Christmas. There is strength in tradition, so use it to enrich your child’s life.