TL;DR: The best baby shower questions aren't trivia about strangers' babies — they're questions for the parents-to-be. There are three kinds worth using: advice questions ("what's your one rule you'll never break?"), prediction questions (birth date, weight, first word), and well-wishes (a sentence for the baby's future). Collect them on cards or in a jar so quiet guests join in too, keep them short, and never make participation feel like an assignment. The full lists are below.
Search "baby shower questions" and you mostly get trivia quizzes — guess the candy bar in the diaper, name that nursery rhyme. Those are fine games. But they're not what people actually mean when they ask this. The questions that make a shower feel personal are the ones pointed at the guests of honor: things that get the room talking about these parents and this baby. That's the list this guide gives you.
Key takeaways
- Three question types do all the work: advice, predictions, and well-wishes for the baby.
- Put them on cards or in a jar. Written prompts let shy guests contribute without being put on the spot.
- Prediction questions need a winner chosen later — birth date, weight, and length are only confirmed after the baby arrives.
- Don't force it. A good host invites participation; they don't drag a guest into a game past the point of fun.
The three kinds of questions that actually land
Pick one type as your main activity and sprinkle the others in. Trying to run all three as separate games is when a shower starts to feel like a worksheet.
| Type | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Advice | Guests share a parenting tip or saying | A keepsake the parents keep |
| Predictions | Guess birth date, weight, first word | A game with a winner (chosen later) |
| Well-wishes | A short hope for the baby's future | A warm, sentimental moment |
Advice questions to ask the parents-to-be
The most-kept version of this is a stack of "advice for the new parents" cards. Set them out and let guests fill them in during the natural lulls — no spotlight required. Good prompts:
- What's one piece of advice you'd give a first-time parent?
- What's a parenting "rule" you swear you'll never break?
- What helped you most in the first month with a newborn?
- What's the one baby product you couldn't live without?
- What should the parents ignore that everyone will tell them?
- Best tip for surviving on no sleep?
A fun twist Pampers suggests: have everyone write down a funny parenting saying their own mom or dad used, drop the slips in a bowl, and guess who wrote each one. It turns advice into a low-key guessing game and gets the whole room laughing.
Prediction questions (the ones with a "winner")
This is the classic shower game in disguise. As Emily Post notes, the timeless version is to "guess the baby's weight, length, hair color" — the catch is the winner can only be crowned after the birth, so it doubles as a reason to stay in touch. Collect guesses on a card:
- Birth date and time
- Weight and length
- Hair color (or none!)
- Who does baby look like — mom or dad?
- First word
- Will the parent-to-be be early, on time, or late?
Host tip
Keep every prediction card together (a photo of the stack works) so you can actually pick a winner months later. The reveal text after the birth is its own little moment — and a reason for guests to feel involved long after the party.
Well-wishes for the baby
This is the sentimental one. Pampers' "Wishes for Baby" format is a fill-in-the-blank sheet where guests write hopes for the baby's future — "Your parents will be proud of you because you'll follow your dreams," or something deliberately silly. Read a few aloud and the room melts a little. Prompts that work:
- My biggest wish for you is…
- I hope you grow up to be…
- When you're 18, I hope you know…
- The world I hope you find is…
- One thing I promise to teach you…
Questions about the parents (the "how well do you know them" twist)
A different flavor: questions where the parents answer first and guests try to match them. Pampers describes the format — the parents-to-be answer a list beforehand, then guests fill in their best guesses and the closest match wins. Try:
- Who's more likely to handle the 3 a.m. wake-up calmly?
- Which parent will sneak the baby an extra cookie?
- How many diapers will the baby go through in week one?
- Whose baby photo does the bump take after?
If you'd rather skip the cards and pens entirely, the same "guess and reveal" rhythm runs cleanly on a screen — the play-it-on-the-TV game set does the matching and reveal for you, and our how-well-do-you-know-mom quiz guide walks through building the question bank from scratch.
How to run it without it feeling like homework
The format matters as much as the questions. A few rules:
- Write, don't perform. Cards and a jar let quiet guests contribute. Calling on people one by one is what kills the energy.
- Keep prompts short. A one-line question gets a real answer; a paragraph gets skipped.
- Read a handful aloud, not all of them. Sample the best, then hand the rest to the parents as a keepsake.
- Let people opt out. Emily Post is clear that a good host "doesn't force their guests to participate in structured party activities past the point of enjoyment."
What most people get wrong
They treat "baby shower questions" as trivia to test guests, then wonder why it falls flat with a room full of actual parents. The questions that work do the opposite — they ask guests to give something (advice, a wish, a guess), and they point the spotlight at the couple, not at who can name the most nursery rhymes. Give, don't quiz.
Pick your three, print or jot them on cards, set out a jar and a pen, and you've got the warmest part of the shower handled. If you want zero printing at all, an on-screen game does the heavy lifting — see the browser game set or our roundup of no-supply baby shower games.
FAQ
What questions should you ask at a baby shower?
The ones aimed at the parents-to-be: advice questions ("what's your one parenting rule?"), prediction questions (birth date, weight, first word), and well-wishes for the baby. These beat generic trivia because they make the party about these parents.
What are good baby prediction questions?
Birth date and time, weight and length, hair color, who the baby will look like, and first word. As Emily Post notes, the winner of a "guess the baby's…" game has to be chosen after the birth — so keep everyone's guesses together to crown a winner later.
What do you write on baby advice cards?
A short, specific prompt and a blank line: "One piece of advice for the new parents," "A product you couldn't live without," or a fill-in-the-blank wish like "My biggest hope for you is…" Keep it to one line so guests actually fill it in.
How do you get shy guests to join in?
Use written cards or a jar instead of going around the room. Guests fill them in during conversation lulls, and you read a few aloud — no one is put on the spot. A good host invites participation rather than forcing it.
Sources
- Emily Post — Party Game Ideas for Baby Showers (the classic "guess the baby's weight, length, hair color" game with a winner chosen after the birth; a good host doesn't force guests to participate in structured activities past the point of enjoyment)
- Pampers — 60+ Fun Baby Shower Games (the "Wishes for Baby" fill-in-the-blank well-wishes sheet; the parenting-advice-slip guessing game; the "parents answer first, guests guess" matching format)