My Parents Have Lives???

It comes as a surprise to young children that the people they call "Mommy" or "Daddy" or "Grammy" also have names like "Rachel" or "Ken" or "Karen." It is incomprehensible to older children that these same people may (gasp!) live a life that encompasses more than being parents or grandparents. Try these conversation sparking activities at your family holiday - if you dare!

* Have the kids write the adult's life story, as they understand it. Then have them check their story for accuracy by reading it aloud to the person they wrote about.

* Let the kids design a questionnaire for their parents and other family members to discover more about them.

* Older children might be interested in what high school life was like for their parents and grandparents. (Or they might not. Ask them to please be polite and feign an interest for the sake of harmony.)

What decade was it when the adults were in high school? What was going on in the world then? What songs and fashions were popular? How about games and other pastimes?

I recently ran across a JC Penney catalog from 1972, the year I graduated from high school. Doing an online search will uncover many other catalogs and magazines from different time periods. Lots of fun - and a little embarassing. (what Were we thinking? hip hugging bell bottoms???)

* Go through old family photo albums to find pictures from when everyone was young.
Before looking at the pictures, ask the kids to make sketches or write brief descriptions of what they think their parents and grandparents looked like. Then compare the pictures. Do they match?

* Ask your children if they would like to have children some day. What do they think their children will look like? Ask them to draw or write a description of their future children then tuck the pictures away for posterity.