5 Creative Ways You Can Preserve Memories Of Your Parents *Now* For You & Your Kids

Even as a deeply nostalgic person who loves looking through old family mementos and photos, I sometimes find trying to document our family life a little overwhelming. It’s one of those things that you know you need to do — things you want to do — but if you overthink it (like making sure you have the perfect recipe cards to write on or just the right photo album to store pictures), it’ll never happen.

And then, suddenly, you’ll realize it’s too late.

One Reddit user wants you to be sure you never have that feeling though — especially when it comes to memories of your own parents.

Taking to the /Mommit subreddit, the original poster (OP) shared that after her mom had a stroke in the fall, she realized that she really wanted her kids to know her mom — in case something else happened. “I realized I was just assuming she’d always be around and I had done almost nothing to make sure my kids actually know her when they’re older,” OP wrote. And then she shared the eight things she thinks everyone should be doing with their parents while they’re still here, still healthy, and still capable.

It’s a pretty wholesome, lovely list. And the best part? These are totally doable (and not overwhelming). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Leave your phone recording during visits. She recommends not doing staged videos, but just her doing whatever it is she’s doing. Reading books, cooking, puttering around the house. “The boring stuff is what you’ll miss most,” OP wrote.
• Have her speak in her native language. “My mom speaks Polish and my kids think it’s hilarious,” OP wrote. “But also, they’re picking it up. And someday that recording might be the only way they hear it.”
• Get her recipes on video, not just written down. OP says that watching her parents cook and doing “a pinch of this” or saying, “just cook until it looks right” won’t traslante as well on paper. So “film her hands, film the mess, that’s the recipe,” OP wrote.
• “Record her telling stories about you as a kid. My 4-year-old is obsessed with hearing about ‘when mommy was little.’ Grandma tells it better than I ever could.”
• “Just sit with her and shut up sometimes,” OP wrote. “Stop multitasking during visits. Put the phone down — after you hit record. Just be there. My biggest regret is all the visits I spent scrolling while she played with my kids.”

The comments from fellow parents either missing their own moms and dads or wishing they had a close relationship with their parents truly put this whole idea into perspective.

“My mom had cancer so I’m ‘lucky’ that I got to prep a bit. She left me a voicemail singing happy birthday to me,” one user shared. “I get to listen to it every year and am so grateful.”

“As someone who’s estranged and wishes I could do half this stuff or that they cared enough. I hope everyone who has willing and active parents sees this,” another wrote.

“My mom is already gone and my children don’t remember her. If your mom is still on this Earth, do all of these things yesterday,” read another comment.

Many other users shared the things they wished they’d done — recorded their parents reading books to their kids, saving voicemails — and some who have lost their parents shared the things they’re so grateful they did, like candid photos and pictures of their hands.

Above all, everyone said it’s about intention. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hustle of life, and I think all of us can admit that sometimes hanging out with our parents is the last thing we want to do on a Sunday afternoon. But one day, we’ll long for it. And by trying some of these easy tips, we can help preserve our parents for our children.

If you have a good relationship with your parents, be sure to tell them how much you’d like to preserve their memories and legacies for your kids. You might be surprised by how much they’ll want to pitch in, with recordings, videos, and letters to your children.

Honestly — this is the real generational wealth.