GUIDE
I want to record my parents talking about their childhood and our family history while the kids are young, so the grandkids can watch it someday. Where do I start?
By the seenow! teamLast updated:
Plan a few short sessions of about 40 minutes instead of one marathon, each on one topic, with five to ten questions written in advance. Record on a phone in a quiet room, let a grandchild ask at least one question, and label each file with names, places and the date the day you record it.
WHY
Why this happens
Most families mean to do this and keep putting it off. It feels like a big production, and there's always next summer. Meanwhile the kids are growing, and the window when a grandparent can tell a story straight to a grandchild who is old enough to ask questions doesn't stay open forever. The stories also live in only one place: in your parents' heads, and maybe partly in yours.
The good news is that you don't need equipment or a script. Short, focused sessions are how established projects do it. StoryCorps, the nonprofit that has recorded conversations between family members for years, sets aside 40 minutes for each interview, after a 5-minute sound check. Its question lists start simply: "Where did you grow up?" "How did you and Grandma meet?" "What was my mom like growing up?"
The other lesson from archives is that a recording nobody can find is almost as lost as one never made. StoryCorps sends a copy of each interview it records to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the Library's staff say keywords such as full names, relationships, places and topics are how they find a recording again. Your family's version can be simpler, but the same rule applies.
HOW TO
What you can do starting today
Ask early and plan several short sessionsNo app needed
Bring it up casually: "The kids keep asking about when you were little. Could we record some of those stories?" Then plan three or four sessions of about 40 minutes, each on one theme: childhood, how they met, their work, family traditions. Shorter sessions are easier on everyone, and a missed one isn't a disaster.
Source: StoryCorps: What to expect at a StoryCorps interview
Write five to ten questions for each sessionNo app needed
Pick questions that invite a story rather than a yes or no. StoryCorps' list of great questions is a good place to start. Share them with your parents a few days ahead so they can think, dig out old photos and remember names. Holding an old photo while they talk often brings back details a question alone won't.
Source: StoryCorps: Great questions
Set up a quiet room and a steady phoneNo app needed
Choose a small room with soft furniture and the door closed. Turn off the TV, fans and phone notifications. Prop your phone on a stack of books or a stand, in landscape, close enough that their voice is clear, and do a one-minute test recording before you start. Then forget about the camera and look at the person talking.
Let the grandchild ask one questionNo app needed
Even a 5-year-old can ask "What did you play when you were little?" Put the child in the shot for that part. Years from now, the moment of a grandparent answering their grandchild directly may be the part everyone rewatches most.
Label and copy the file the same dayNo app needed
Rename each video with the date, who is speaking and the topic, for example "2026-11-28 Grandpa Joe childhood on the farm, Ohio." Add a few sentences in a text file next to it listing the names and places mentioned. Then keep a second copy somewhere other than your phone, such as a computer or an external drive, and send one to a sibling.
Source: Library of Congress, Folklife Today: StoryCorps interviews and the importance of keywords
WITH SEENOW!
Doing it with seenow!
seenow! is made for 2-second clips of everyday life, not for long interviews, so the recording itself belongs in your phone's camera app.
- Around the interview, seenow!'s camera can film the front and back cameras at the same time, so one short clip can catch Grandpa telling a story and your child's face listening.
- You can keep a separate group with the grandparents so those small moments go only to them.
What seenow! can’t do
- seenow! can't record or store a 40-minute interview, and videos saved on your phone can't be posted to it. Keep the full recordings in your own files and backups.
Core features are free.
POINT
Things to watch for in this situation
Let them skip what they want to skip
Some memories are hard or private. Tell your parents up front that they can say "pass" to any question and that you'll stop recording whenever they ask. The goal is the stories they want to leave, not a complete record.
Agree on who gets copies
Ask your parents whether the recordings are for the immediate family only or can be shared more widely, and keep to it. Siblings will want copies too, so decide early who keeps the master files.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Video or audio only?
Video is worth it if your parents are comfortable on camera, because the grandkids will want to see their faces. If the camera makes them freeze up, audio with a few photos taken that day works too.
Should we use a professional?
You don't need one to start. A phone, a quiet room and good questions cover most of what matters. If the family later wants an edited film, the raw recordings you made are what any editor would need anyway.
What if my parents don't want to be recorded?
Start smaller. Ask one question at a family dinner and record only that answer, or ask them to tell the story behind one old photo. Many people relax once they see how short and simple it is.