Birthday interview questions for kids, asked every year

By Zara Turner-Major, co-founder of Dear Moment. Updated 27 October 2026.

The 10 questions to ask every year

These annual birthday questions work from about age 3 to 13. Keep the wording the same each year, even when a question starts to feel too young for them. You compare the answers, so the question must not change.

1. How old are you today? (Measure their height too.)
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What is your favourite thing to do?
4. Who is your best friend?
5. What makes you laugh?
6. What are you scared of?
7. What is your favourite song?
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
9. What are you good at?
10. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Extra questions for ages 2 to 4

At this age, answers are often one word, and that is fine. Write down exactly what they say, including words they say wrong.

1. What is your name? (Record how they say it.)
2. What colour do you like best?
3. What is your favourite toy called?
4. What is your favourite animal, and what noise does it make?
5. What did you have for breakfast?
6. Who lives in your house?

Extra questions for ages 5 to 7

1. What is the best thing about school?
2. What is your favourite book?
3. What would you do if you were a grown-up for one day?
4. What is the hardest thing about being your age?
5. What are you looking forward to this year?
6. If you could be any animal, which one would you be?

Extra questions for ages 8 to 10

1. What is something you learned this year?
2. What was the best day you had this year?
3. What would you change about school?
4. What game do you play most?
5. What do you and your friends argue about?
6. What would a perfect weekend look like?

Extra questions for ages 11 to 13, and teens

Older children may prefer to type their answers, or to answer only some questions. Let them choose which answers the rest of the family sees.

1. What are you proud of from this year?
2. What is something you changed your mind about?
3. What do you do when you feel stressed?
4. What is something new you tried this year?
5. What do adults get wrong about people your age?
6. Where do you think you will be in 10 years?
7. What would you tell yourself a year ago?

How to do a birthday interview

• Pick a calm moment. A day or two before or after the birthday works better than the party itself. Bedtime or a car journey are good times.
• Keep it short. Ten questions take 5 to 10 minutes. Stop if they lose interest, and finish another day.
• Use the same words. Read the core questions from the same list every year. Don't explain or suggest answers.
• Write their exact words. If they say "pasghetti", write "pasghetti".
• Ask one follow-up question. "Why?" or "What else?" is enough. Then move on to the next question.
• Under 3? Write down what they can do and say instead, or record them singing or saying their name.
• Skip what they don't want to answer. Write "skipped", so you know the question was asked.
• Don't show last year's answers first. Read them together after the interview.

Record the answers so you can hear them change

A recording keeps their voice, the pauses and the laughs, which a written answer does not. Record the whole interview as one voice note on your phone, or a short video.

• Start the same way each year. Have them say "Today is [date], my name is [name], and I am [age]." It dates the recording, and you hear their voice change from year to year.
• Put the phone on the table. Holding it up in front of them can make children shy or silly. Our guide to recording a grandparent's voice has more phone tips that work for children too.
• Find a quiet room. Turn off the television and keep siblings busy for ten minutes.
• Keep the recording with the written answers. Then you can read the answers quickly and play the recording when you want to hear it.

If you missed a year, or are starting late

Start with this birthday. You can't get back a missed year's answers, but you can write down what you remember: "At 4 you wanted to be a bin lorry driver." Date the note to that birthday. In Dear Moment you can backdate a moment to that birthday, so a late interview or a remembered answer appears at the right point on the timeline.

If your child is older when you start, the core questions still work. They will tell you which ones feel too young, and their reaction is worth writing down too.

Keep the answers private

Birthday interviews hold a lot of detail: a best friend's name, the school, what they are scared of. Share them with close family, and don't post them publicly. If you share a photo of the answers, check that it doesn't show their full name, school or address. From about age 10, ask your child before you share their answers with anyone.

Where Dear Moment fits

Record the interview as a voice note in Dear Moment, and add the written answers as a note on the same moment. Voice notes are transcribed for you, so you can read the answers as well as play them. You browse memories by month, so each year's interview sits in their birthday month, and you can share it with grandparents through a private link that opens in a browser, with no app or account. Nothing is posted publicly, there are no ads, data is stored in the EU, and your memories are never used to train AI.

For other things to write down in the first year, see our baby journal prompts.

Questions

What age can you start a birthday interview?

Children can usually answer simple questions from about age 3. Before that, write down what they can do and say, or record them singing or saying their name. Those notes count as the first interviews.

How many birthday interview questions should you ask?

About 10. Ten questions take 5 to 10 minutes. Add two or three extra questions for their age if they are enjoying it.

Should you ask the same questions every year?

Yes, for the core questions. The point is to compare the answers from one year to the next, and that only works if the question stays the same. Change the extra questions as they get older.

What if my child does not want to answer?

Skip the question or stop and try again the next day. A short interview is fine. Older children often answer more if they can type the answers themselves or ask you questions back.

Is there a printable version?

Not yet. You can print this page, or copy the 10 core questions into a note on your phone so they are the same each year.