Bringing children up takes a big bite at your pocket and your life. The truth couldn’t get any more apparent than in the past two years; look at the spiralling rise in the cost of living ever since the pandemic began. However, one thing that is just as true is how grateful and gracious children can be when they see their parents making time to be with them. Kids long for their mommies and daddies more than the nice things they want and know they can get from them.

 

I have my fair share of time-honoured memories with my mothers: my mother and my grandmother. Growing up, I never had much, only everything I needed. But the memories I made with them were all I could ever ask for from my childhood. All that is only dawning on me now that I’m older and in hindsight. So, here are a couple of tricks to make lifelong memories with your child that they’ll likely never forget and always cherish.

 

Start a Digital Parent-Child Album With Them at the Centre

 

Timeless moments usually get lost in the chaos of life and death, triumphs and tragedies, and stillnesses and transitions. Yet, those are the moments worth remembering. In 2011, my mother took me to McDonald’s after the Toybox Primary year-end ceremony. I remember the magical mother-son moments we had there. And after over a decade, I decided to document that piece of history as a mini-memoir, which won the FilmFinity Short Story Competition. I used some of the winnings to go out with my mother. A karmic full circle moment, huh?

 

My only regret is that we didn’t preserve those memories on Facebook or Instagram. A digital album would’ve helped us remember and celebrate the day better. From that experience, I gathered that children remember the things you do with them in stunning detail. So, go out with them. Make funny TikTok videos and live Facebook posts with silly Snapchat filters and funny voices. It’s something the both of you will look back on and smile at some decade or so later.

 

 

Create a Conversational Bond With Your Child

 

There are certain things money can’t buy, and one of them is having an authentic, conversational connection with your little you. There’s no shortcut for this one; invest your time in them. Children can feel when you’re talking to them or down at them. Connect with your child on that level. You’ll be amazed decades from today when your child reminisces about a day when the two of you had spoken about something your child felt changed their life unbeknown to you.

 

Be Interested In The Things They Are Passionate About

Children—not only yours—are deep and complex mini people. And one mistake a lot of parents make is not acknowledging this and dismissing their children’s feelings. More often than not, the thoughts, feelings, and adventures children have are either met with glazed eyes or a nod that is followed by no act of support. Please, don’t fall into this trap.

 

You might think it’s nothing, but some things could be everything to your child. Compliment their sketches. Ask them about any new writings or stories. Go to their school matches—if you can make it—if you’ve noticed that your child has a vested interest in a particular sport. Little gestures go a long way.

 

 

Keep Your Promises. Kids Never Forget Broken Promises

 

There’s no worse foot to put forward in your relationship with your child than starting on a lack of trust because of inconsistency and broken promises. If you know you have an unhealthy record of not honouring already-made promises, do not make them. It doesn’t matter how trivial (a trip to the movies) or significant (not being able to buy them something you’ve been promising them for months) they are. Bad memories aren’t something you want to create with your child. Keeping your promises is sure to keep you from straying to that infamous path to Hell we all know is paved with good but half-baked intentions.

 

Everyone has a different way of building a relationship with their kids, yet everybody has the same way of destroying the same thing—lack of time, attention, and presence. Be careful not to lose sight of getting the little things right. Memories matter.