Play the "Know it All" Game with Mom!

What You Need:

• At least 2-3 moms with one kid each
• One emcee (perhaps Dad can play the role of Bob Eubanks?), and a small audience
• Pen and paper for keeping score (or you can use a whiteboard if it’s handy)
• Question list (you can download the starter set provided below)

What You Do:

1. To set up the game, the emcee should draw up a list of questions for kids, and a second list of questions for Moms. Download the starter set provided if you like, but don’t hesitate to add your own items. Note: audience members make good consultants here, but do try to avoid cluing in your contestants!
2. Each round consists of two parts. First, up to 3 moms leave the room, out of hearing range, while the emcee chooses 3-4 questions to ask their kids. The emcee might ask, for example, “what is mom’s favorite place to get coffee?” A record-keeper (perhaps another enthusiastic dad?) should jot the answer down in case there are disputes later.
3. Repeat for two or three more questions (the number will depend on the age and attention span of your kid contestants!).
4. Now the moms come back and sit in a row opposite the kids. The emcee will ask the moms the same questions, and each mother-child team gets a point for every Mom answer that matches that of her child.
5. Next comes Mom’s turn! The kids will leave, and now the moms will see how well they know their kids. The emcee and record-keeper will repeat steps 2 and 3. The team with the most points wins the round (but if everyone ties, that, of course, is a victory too!)
6. Keep playing until you run out of questions, or until the littlest kids start to squirm. No matter how long you and your child play, be prepared for some uproarious laughs!

Play the Mother-Child “Know It All Game”! Question Starter Set: Moms, do you know your child’s... Favorite kind of dessert? Most hated vegetable? Favorite TV show? Best-loved tee shirt? Favorite way to spend Saturday morning? Favorite dinner? Favorite place to go for fun? Favorite book? Favorite color? Favorite song or performer (note: for older kids, this is a more sophisticated question, and you may want to narrow it by type of music or band) Favorite kind of homework (okay, this may not be your kids’ favorite question, but it’ll get a laugh!) Favorite way to spend a rainy day? Favorite kind of exercise? If your child could be on a baseball/basketball/football team (you pick), which one would it be? If your child could be any movie star, who would he be? If your child could drive, what kind of car would he want? If your child could be any animal/flower, which one would he want to be? Kids: do you know Mom’s… Birthday? Favorite place to get coffee (or: favorite kind of coffee to order)? Favorite dessert? Favorite food? Most hated food? Favorite restaurant? Best-loved outfit? Favorite grocery store? Favorite clothing store? Favorite place to go for fun? Favorite TV show? Favorite color? Favorite song or performer? Biggest pet peeve? Favorite kind of kids’ homework? Favorite kind of exercise? If Mom could get a new car, what kind of car would it be? If Mom could be any animal/flower, which one would she like to be?