Those first teeth, the drawing of a horse that looked like a cat, the sentence they said for the very first time. You want to remember all of it, and your memory lets you down. Here are ten ways to capture childhood memories so they really last.
1. A digital diary with photos and stories
A digital app that combines photos with short stories and milestones has one big advantage: everything is in one place, easy to share with grandparents, and it can never be lost to fire or water damage. Apps like Ouderliefde are built specifically for this. More on this in our article why a digital diary beats WhatsApp.
2. Keeping track of your child’s firsts
First smile, first step, first word, first day at school, first lost tooth. Make a list. A date and one sentence is enough; there’s no need to write an essay. In twenty years that little list will be worth its weight in gold. In our article on tracking baby milestones you’ll find an overview of the moments parents most often wish they had recorded.
3. Photograph drawings instead of keeping them
Children make hundreds of drawings and you can’t possibly keep them all. Photograph them with the date and a short description of what they were meant to be, ideally in your child’s own words. "A dragon eating spaghetti, 3 April, age 4" will be one of the funniest things you come across in fifteen years’ time. Also read: keeping your child’s schoolwork: reports and drawings.
4. A time capsule to open on their 18th birthday
Each year, collect a few things in a box: a drawing, a photo, a note from you to your child, a newspaper from that day, an object that sums up that year. On their 18th birthday you open it together. You can do it digitally too: write a letter in an app like Ouderliefde that is delivered automatically on their 18th birthday.
5. Record their little voice, it changes faster than you think
Video is wonderful, and audio clips have something special of their own. Record your child singing a song, telling a story or just chatting about their day. A recording of your child at four is almost unrecognisable later on. Your phone has a built-in voice recorder; use it now and then.
6. Ask the same questions every year
Every year on the same day, their birthday or 1 January, ask your child the same questions: What’s your favourite colour? What do you want to be when you grow up? Who’s your best friend? Write down the answers or record them. After ten years you’ll have an astonishing record of how a person grows and changes.
7. Handprints and footprints
A print of your newborn’s hands or feet literally fits in the palm of your adult hand. Years later, that realisation really hits home. Make them with special clay or ink, or scan them in. Keep the originals, and take a digital photo of them as well.
8. Photos in the same spot, year after year
Next to a door frame with height marks, or sitting in the same chair: the same pose in the same place every year. After ten years you’ll have a timeline showing how your child grew from baby to teenager. Simple to do, and incredibly powerful when you see the photos side by side.
9. Writing letters for later
Write your child a letter for their 18th birthday. Tell them who they are right now, what you see in them, what you hope for them. Write about yourself too: what’s going on in your life, and in the world? That context makes the letter all the richer later on. Use an app that sends it automatically, so you don’t lose it.
10. Scan school reports and documents before you throw them away
School reports, certificates, party invitations, the first note from the teacher: papers like these disappear quickly. Scan them and keep them digitally, sorted by school year. In twenty years, that report saying "finds it hard to sit still" will be the biggest source of laughter at the dinner table. More tips in our article on keeping your child’s schoolwork.
Combining them works best
You don’t have to do everything. Pick two or three things that suit the way you live. An online diary as the base for everyday photos and milestones, topped up with a yearly letter and a series of growth photos: that’s already more than most parents have by the time their child turns 18.
Ouderliefde is built to be that digital base: photos, milestones, drawings, school reports, and a time capsule letter that is delivered automatically on their 18th birthday. Start for free and build up the album as your child grows.
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