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Moms are known for planning family gatherings, offering unwanted advice, and taking unflattering photos of you at every family event. You may reflect on the importance of your mom every time you send off a “Thank you, Mom!” Mother’s Day card. Otherwise, your mom is as constant as your house payment and as dependable as your car. Until she is not.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Questions to Ask Your Mom About Your Childhood
- Questions to Ask Your Mom About Parenting
- Funny Questions to Ask Your Mom
- Deep Questions to Ask Your Mom
- Questions to Ask Your Mom About Her Life
It may be hard to imagine life without your mom, but at some point, this will probably be your reality. It’s human nature not to appreciate a person until she is gone but it’s a good idea not to try and make that mistake.
Get to know your mom if you’re lucky enough to have her in your life. Here are some questions you may want to ask your mom so you don’t have any regrets later on in life.
Questions to Ask Your Mom About Your Childhood
Your parents and grandparents are the only people who can share memories of your early childhood. After these people are gone, it’ll become challenging to find people to share stories or corroborate memories you may have.
Here are some questions to ask your mom about your own childhood.
1. What were my first words?
Your mom may report that you were able to say the dog’s name before you said “Mama.”
2. Was I early, late, or average on achieving my childhood milestones?
If you are a new parent (or you are considering having children in the future), you may want to know about your physical and intellectual development.
New parents love to play the comparison game. They compare the development of their children with their own milestones. For that reason, you may ask your mom when you started crawling, walking, speaking, or reading.
3. Do you think I was an annoying teenager?
You may know from personal experience how discouraging parenting a teenager can be. You may feel better about your own child if your parents recalled how you slammed doors, rolled your eyes, and were generally unpleasant to be around when you were 13.
4. What can you tell me about my health history?
You may not remember that you used to break out in a rash every time you ate a strawberry as a toddler. You may not remember having chickenpox or mono either, but this knowledge may come in handy later on in your life.
5. Why did you choose my name?
Ask about the story of your name before that information is lost with time. You may be amazed to find out that you were named after a kind nurse or after a favorite character on a soap opera.
Questions to Ask Your Mom About Parenting
Whether you have children now or plan to have children someday, it’s never too early to ask your mom parenting advice. You may think that your parents made errors in judgment when bringing you and your siblings up, but those “mistakes” may have been purposeful. It’s time to find out why those choices were made.
6. Why did you spank me (or choose not to spank me?)
Often adults remember getting punished as a child. As an adult, maybe it is time to get the other side of the story.
7. How were you treated as a child?
You can often find out about a person’s parenting style by first discovering how their own parents treated them.
8. How do you develop good sleep habits in children?
Modern parents often depend on online experts to discover best practices for raising children. But if you never had sleep issues as a child or adult, ask your mom how this was achieved.
9. What was the most challenging thing about raising me and my siblings?
As an adult, you may find it interesting to see your childhood through the eyes of another person.
10. What was the biggest mistake you made when raising me?
Your mom may or may not answer this question truthfully.
Funny Questions to Ask Your Mom
There’s no better way to say “Happy birthday, Mom” than to inundate her with a bunch of crazy questions about her life. Here are some to consider.
11. Who is your favorite kid?
If your mom is a straight shooter, you may not want to hear the answer to this question.
12. What did you do to get in trouble as a kid?
Wouldn’t it be fun to hear the answers to this question?
13. What did you do as a kid or teenager that annoyed Grandma and Grandpa?
Chances are, you may hear stories about fights over music and clothes. Some things never change.
14. What popular song annoys you the most?
You may discover that your mom’s most hated song is the one you played on repeat all through your teen years.
15. What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
Your mom may or may not be truthful when answering this question. It probably depends on your age when you ask the question and your mom’s age when she answers it.
Deep Questions to Ask Your Mom
You may think it’s fun to ask your mom embarrassing questions, but you should also cover serious topics. Here are some questions to ask your parents before they die.
16. Do you believe in God? Why or why not?
You may know the answer to this question already, but you may not have heard your mom’s explanation of her beliefs or lack thereof.
17. Do you have any regrets in your life?
You can learn a lot about life from your parents and grandparents. Sometimes you just need reminders to listen.
18. What is one thing that you’ve never done that you would like to do?
Do you need a Mother’s Day idea? This discussion might give you an idea for an activity or gift.
19. What’s your favorite thing about Dad?
Sometimes kids avoid thinking about the romantic side of their parent’s relationships. But at some point, your mom and dad dated. Find out the story of their romance.
20. Do you want to be buried or cremated?
You may not want to think about your parents’ mortality, but your mom may appreciate that you care enough to ask this question. It’s important to find out sooner rather than later.
Questions to Ask Your Mom About Her Life
Don’t let stories in your family die in your family. Ask your mom about her life so that you can share those stories with your children and grandchildren.
21. What can you tell me about our family’s genealogy?
At some point, you will be interested in knowing where you came from, so make things easier on yourself and ask your parents and grandparents about your family history.
22. What is your dream job?
You may be delighted to find out that your mom was fulfilled by her work.
23. What historical event had the most significant impact on you and why?
You may hear memories of the moon landing, civil rights marches, or the September 11 attacks.
24. Besides your family, what is the thing that you are most proud of in your life?
Your mom’s graduation from college may be her most significant accomplishment. Or maybe your mom is proud of working the same job for over 40 years. You can learn a lot about what your mom values by asking this question.
25. If you could do life over, what would you keep the same?
Often older people are asked about regrets. Put a more positive spin on this question by asking what your mom would choose to do over again.
What Do You Want to Know About Your Mom?
Asking your mom essential questions about her life is important, but you should also write down the responses so that you can share the information with future generations. Think of how excited you would be to find a diary of your deceased grandma or great-grandma. Your kids and grandkids will be delighted to know more about your mom someday.
If you’re a mom yourself, you might consider starting a journal to leave for future generations. You can write down your favorite stories as well as your answers to big life questions.
You may be able to find a book of mom writing prompts online or simply buy a blank journal and write down your memories. Either way, your children and grandchildren will be glad to have it someday.
If you're looking for more question ideas, read our guides on get to know you questions and questions to ask kids.
