Care Home Reminiscence Quiz: Dementia-Friendly Questions

This is written for activity coordinators, care staff and families. The aim is not to test anybody. It's to open a conversation.

Long-term memory often stays clear when recent memory does not, so questions about the 1940s to the 1960s usually land best.

How to run the session well

• There are no wrong answers. If somebody gives a different answer, take it - the point is the talking, not the score.
• Never say 'don't you remember?'. If a question doesn't land, move on gently and come back to the theme another way.
• Ask open questions alongside the factual ones. 'What was your first job?' will do more than any answer sheet.
• Work in themes rather than jumping around - one session on school, one on work, one on holidays.
• Keep it short. Twenty to thirty minutes is usually right, and stop while people are still enjoying it.
• Bring an object if you can - an old tin, a coin, a photograph, a sweet packet. Objects prompt more than questions do.
• Sit at eye level, one person speaking at a time, and keep background noise and the television off.
• Watch for distress. Wartime, bereavement and childhood hardship can come up unexpectedly; follow the person's lead and change subject without making it obvious.
• Write down what people tell you. Families and future staff will value it, and it helps the next session.

School days

• What did you write with at school - slate, pencil or pen?
• Do you remember your first teacher's name?
• What did you have for school dinners?
• What did you drink at morning break?
• What games did you play in the playground?
• Did you walk to school, and how far?
• What happened if you were late?
• What did you wear - was there a uniform?
• What was your best subject?
• How old were you when you left school?

Home and everyday life

• What day was washing day, and how was it done?
• Did you have a range, a coal fire or a back boiler?
• What was in the pantry?
• Did the milkman come, and was it glass bottles?
• What did you listen to on the wireless?
• Who had the first television in your street?
• What was Sunday like in your house?
• Did you have a garden, an allotment or a yard?
• What did you use for a fridge before you had one?
• How did you keep warm in winter?

Work

• What was your first job, and what did it pay?
• How did you get to work?
• What was in your lunch?
• Who did you work with that you still think about?
• Was there a works outing or a Christmas do?
• Did you belong to a union?
• What did you wear to work?
• What was the hardest part of the job?
• What did you do when you finished a shift?
• When did you retire, and what happened on the last day?

Music, dancing and going out

• Where did you go dancing?
• Who did you go with?
• What was the first record you bought?
• Did you have a gramophone, a radiogram or a record player?
• What did the band play?
• What did you wear on a Saturday night?
• Where did you meet your husband or wife?
• What was the first film you saw at the pictures?
• Was there an interval, and what did you have?
• What song still takes you straight back?

Holidays and days out

• Where did you go on holiday as a child?
• Did you go by train, coach or car?
• Did you stay in a boarding house, a caravan or a camp?
• What was the landlady like?
• What did you do at the seaside when it rained?
• Did you have a bucket and spade, and what colour?
• What did you eat on the front?
• Did you go on the pier, the donkeys or the boating lake?
• Did you send postcards, and to whom?
• Where would you go back to tomorrow if you could?

Gentle general knowledge, for a scored round

• Who was on the throne when you were born?
• What did a loaf of bread cost when you were first married?
• Which day did the rag and bone man come?
• What was the name of the corner shop?
• Complete: 'Beanz meanz...'
• Complete: 'A Mars a day helps you work, rest and...'
• Who sang 'We'll Meet Again'?
• What did people put in the meter?
• What was a farthing worth?
• What was the Coronation year?
• Answers where they're fixed: Beanz meanz Heinz. Work, rest and play. Vera Lynn. A shilling, in most meters. A quarter of an old penny. 1953.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• There are no wrong answers. The talking is the point.
• Never say 'don't you remember?'.
• Bring an object - a tin, a coin, a sweet packet. It prompts more than questions.

Where to shop next

• 70s quiz questions and answers
• 80s quiz questions and answers
• 90s quiz questions and answers
• 00s quiz questions and answers
• Decade music round questions
• Sweets quiz
• Advert slogan quiz
• Guess the year quiz
• Printable nostalgia quiz sheets
• 50th birthday nostalgia quiz
• 60th birthday nostalgia quiz
• 70th birthday nostalgia quiz
• TV theme tunes quiz
• Adverts we can all still recite
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• How to run a quiz night
• Growing up in the 80s and 90s
• 80s and 90s party ideas
• Milestone birthday cards
• Free feel good tools
• Shop birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Sympathy and bereavement cards
• Sympathy cards guide
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What makes a quiz dementia-friendly?

Long-term memory questions rather than recent ones, no time pressure, no wrong answers, one question at a time, and the freedom to answer with a story rather than a fact.

What should you avoid in a reminiscence session?

Never say 'don't you remember?'. Avoid testing recent memory, avoid correcting people, and be ready to move on quietly if wartime or bereavement causes distress.

How long should a reminiscence session last?

Twenty to thirty minutes is usually right. Stop while people are still enjoying it rather than running until attention drops.

Can I print and use this in a care home?

Yes, freely. Copy it, print it, adapt the themes to the people in the room - there's no restriction from us.