How to Create Lasting Memories with Your Kids

As children, we don’t remember the family vacation we took when we were three, the cake we had at our one-year birthday party or the look we had on our face the day we uttered our first words.  Pictures, videos and other keepsakes help us form those distant memories so that we can enjoy them when we’re older. 

Young children are in search of who they are.  It’s easier for children to connect with their personal identities when they have an understanding of what they were like when they were little.  The memories you shape and build help them become who they are.

Take Lots of Pictures

Create a picture album of your children’s lives.  From your baby’s first steps and early words right through to high school prom and university graduation, take photos that can be enjoyed forever.  As your children grow, share the photos you’ve taken along the way.  As a toddler, show them baby pictures.  As an adolescent, show them pictures from when they were younger.  Tell them about the special look they gave you on the day they were born, or the funny comment they made the morning before their first day of grade school. 

A Memory Quilt

Keep scrap pieces of old blankets and clothing items.  Appeal to your child’s sense of touch and associate different materials with different memories.  Try to collect a variety of textures and designs, and fabrics with interesting embroidery, buttons or images.  Once you’ve accumulated enough, sew your scraps together into a homemade quilt.  When you give it to your child, explain the significance of each piece. 

Keep a coinciding journal that tells a little story about each material.  As you make your way through the journal, let your child find the material on their new quilt.  Not only are you sharing past memories with your child, but you are also in the process of creating a brand new one by spending this special time together with the quilt.

Bedtime Stories

Start a new bedtime ritual with your child by telling stories about him or her before they fall asleep.  Emphasize how much they’ve grown.  Talk about how your daughter was born without hair, but now has beautiful curly locks.  Tell your son about the day he began to walk on his own around the house.  When they’re older, tell a fun story about how they learned to ride a bike, rollerblade or play their favourite sport. 

Your bedtime ritual will quickly become a treasured moment for you and your child.  He or she will expect a new story every day and will look forward to this time together.  It gives you an opportunity to show your children how proud you are of their developments as they grow.  This type of communication helps them build confidence and self-esteem.

Kitchen Time

Ever notice how a certain smell triggers a particular memory?  This happens because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain’s limbic system, which is an area associated with memory and feelings.  Give your child lots of smells they can identify with by spending time in the kitchen.  Cook meals together, teach them your favourite recipes and document all of your creations in your very own journal cookbook. 

Not only is the kitchen a great place to enjoy a variety of distinct scents, but it’s also an excellent way for you to teach your child how to cook, clean and manage one of the most important rooms of the house.  From an early age, you can use cooking as a fun way to learn numbers and basic math by counting and using measuring cups to follow special recipes. 

Childhood memories are treasured moments that we grow to cherish all our lives.  As you create and build on those memories, your children have the ability to form the very foundation of their personality – and enjoy some incredible memories in the meantime.