Family Tree Templates for Kids and Preschoolers (Printable)

A family tree for a child is a different document from one for an adult. It needs three generations at most, boxes big enough for a six-year-old's handwriting, room for a photo or a drawing in each one, and — this is the part that matters most — a shape that fits the child's actual family rather than a textbook one. A template with two neat parent boxes is a problem for a child whose family does not look like that, and it is worth solving before the sheet is handed over rather than at the kitchen table. This page covers how to pitch it by age, what to include, and how to handle the awkward parts kindly. To name any relationship, use the cousin calculator.

Adapt the template before you print it

The most important step, and the one that turns a nice activity into a difficult afternoon if skipped.

Standard templates assume a mother, a father, and four grandparents. Plenty of children do not have that, and being handed a sheet with boxes that do not match your family is a bad way to find out.

Look at the template with the specific child's family in mind and change it first. Add a box, remove one, retitle "Mom" and "Dad" as "Grown-ups who look after me", make room for a step-parent, leave off a branch that would prompt a conversation the child is not ready for.

Blank boxes are more flexible than labeled ones. A template that just says "person" everywhere adapts to any family; one that says "Grandma" twice does not.

Let the child decide who goes on it. For a young child, "the people in your family" is a better instruction than a fixed set of slots. If they put the dog on it, the dog goes on it.

And avoid making the shape a test. A family tree activity is about belonging, not about correctly identifying a genealogical structure — the technical version of that is in blended family tree template if you need the conventions.

What to include, by age

Pitching it right matters more than the design.

Ages 3 to 5. One generation up. The child in the middle, the grown-ups who look after them around it. No dates, no surnames. Photographs to stick on, or space to draw faces. Fifteen minutes of attention is a success.

Ages 5 to 7. Two generations — child, parents, grandparents. Seven boxes at most. First names only. Big boxes, because handwriting at this age is large and uneven, and a box that is too small produces frustration rather than a neat chart.

Ages 7 to 11. Three generations, and this is where siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins can come in if the child wants them. Names and birth years. This is the classic school-project age and where most templates are aimed — the project-specific side is in family tree school project ideas.

Ages 11 and up. Four generations, standard structure, and the interesting part becomes asking rather than drawing. At this point an ordinary adult template works, and the sideways relatives are covered in extended family tree template.

The general rule: one fewer generation than you think, and boxes twice as big.

What makes a good children's template

Specific design points that make the difference between finished and abandoned.

Big boxes. At least 4 cm tall for a child under eight. Adult templates use boxes sized for typed text, and a child cannot write in them.

Photo space. A square in each box for a photograph or a drawn face. This is what turns a diagram into something a child recognises.

Few boxes. Seven for two generations, fifteen for three. A sheet with thirty empty boxes is discouraging before it starts.

Landscape, one sheet. No continuation, no second page.

First names only. Surnames add nothing for a young child and take up the space a picture could use.

A real tree shape, for younger children — trunk, branches, leaves. Purely decorative and genuinely motivating for anyone under seven.

Thick lines, which survive being colored over.

And plenty of white space for the drawings, stickers and additions that will happen whether the template allows for them or not.

Handling the hard parts

The situations worth thinking through in advance.

Adoption. The family a child lives in is their family, and the template should reflect that without qualification. If the child knows about and wants to include birth family, there is room for both — some children make two trees. Follow the child's lead, and where the family has a settled way of talking about it, use their words.

Step-parents and step-siblings. Include them as full boxes, not dotted-line footnotes. A child who has lived with a step-parent for years will notice being told, visually, that this person does not quite count.

two moms or two dads. Any template with unlabelled boxes handles this. One that pre-prints "Mother" and "Father" does not, which is a reason to prefer blank ones generally.

A parent who has died. Include them. Children usually want to, and a family tree is one of the gentler places to talk about it. Follow the family's lead on how to mark it, or do not mark it at all.

A parent who is absent or unknown. Leave the box, leave it blank, or leave it off — whichever the child prefers. Do not require it to be filled.

Foster care and kinship care. "The people who look after me" is a better frame than "parents", and it adapts to any arrangement.

If a relationship name comes up that nobody in the room is sure of, family relationship chart has the whole naming system laid out.

The principle throughout: the child decides who is on their family tree. An adult's job is to make a sheet that can hold whatever answer they give.

Turning it into an activity

For younger children especially, the craft is the point.

Handprint trees. Paint the child's hand and forearm as the trunk and branches, then add fingerprint leaves for each family member. Works from about three.

Leaf cut-outs. Cut paper leaves, write a name on each, stick them onto a drawn tree. The sticking is the appeal.

Photo trees. Print small photographs and glue them into the boxes. Far more engaging than names for a child who cannot read fluently.

A three-dimensional tree — a branch in a jar with paper leaves tied on. Sits on a shelf and can be added to.

Interviewing a grandparent with two or three questions, then adding what they learned. This is where the activity stops being a craft and starts being family history.

More craft variations are in family tree crafts for kids, and the printable formats in printable family tree.

Doing it in a classroom

Group settings need a different approach again, because thirty children means thirty different family shapes.

Send a blank template home rather than filling it in class. Details live with the family, and a child asked to complete a tree from memory at a desk will guess or stall.

Use unlabelled boxes on the class sheet, always. A pre-printed "Mother" and "Father" singles out every child whose family does not match, in front of everyone.

Frame the task as "people who are important to you" rather than a genealogical exercise. It gets better work and avoids the problem entirely.

Offer an alternative. A child in foster care, recently bereaved, or with no information about one side may find the standard task genuinely difficult. A "people who look after me" version, or a friendship tree, gives them something to hand in without a conversation about why.

Do not display them without asking. A wall of family trees can expose things children have not chosen to share.

And check with the family first where you know a child's circumstances are complicated. A quiet word before the sheet goes home prevents most problems — the project variations are in family tree school project ideas.

How many boxes, by generation

Adding siblings and cousins roughly doubles the count, and for a child that is usually a good trade — those are the relatives they actually know, unlike a great-great-grandparent.

If it does not fit on one sheet, cut a generation rather than shrinking the boxes. A child would rather have a complete small tree than an unfinished big one.

Making it worth keeping

Small things that turn a school activity into something the family still has in ten years.

Write the date on it. A dated tree becomes a record of what the family looked like at a moment.

Use the child's own handwriting even where it is untidy. That is the part that will matter later.

Add a photograph of the child making it.

Keep the first attempt, not just the neat second one.

Ask a grandparent to add one fact in their own handwriting — a place of birth, or their own grandmother's name. That single line frequently turns out to be the most valuable thing on the sheet.

And put it somewhere findable. The most common fate of a children's family tree is a drawer; a photograph of it stored with the family files survives longer than the paper will.

FAQ

How many generations should a child's family tree have?

Two for ages five to seven — the child, parents and grandparents. Three for seven to eleven. One generation up is plenty for preschoolers. Fewer generations with bigger boxes always works better than the reverse.

What if a child's family does not fit the template?

Change the template before printing rather than at the table. Use blank boxes instead of pre-labeled ones, add or remove boxes to match, and let the child decide who belongs on their tree.

How do you do a family tree with an adopted child?

The family they live in is their family, and it goes on the tree without qualification. If the child knows about birth family and wants to include them, there is room for both — some children make two trees. Follow the child's lead and use the family's own language.

Should step-parents be on a child's family tree?

Yes, as full boxes rather than dotted-line additions. A child who has lived with a step-parent will notice being shown that this person does not quite count.

What size should the boxes be?

At least 4 cm tall for children under eight. Adult templates use boxes sized for typed text, which are too small for young handwriting and cause more frustration than the activity is worth.

What is a good family tree activity for preschoolers?

A handprint tree — the child's hand and arm painted as the trunk and branches, with fingerprint leaves for each family member. It works from about three and needs no writing at all.

Fewer boxes, bigger boxes, the right shape

A children's family tree works when it is pitched down rather than up: one generation fewer than seems right, boxes twice the size an adult template uses, first names only, and space for a photograph or a drawing in every one. The step that matters most happens before printing — look at the template with that particular child's family in mind and change the shape so it fits, using blank boxes rather than pre-labeled ones. Then let the child decide who goes on it. If a relationship name comes up that nobody is sure about, the cousin calculator will settle it.