Why photographs are so much more than a keepsake

I'm not sure if I actually truly remember my earliest memories, or whether it's because I was exposed to photographs of myself that helped me form them. If you asked me for my earliest memory, the most vivid one I can conjure is waking early one morning at the age of about three - light streaming through the curtains, birds chirping outside. I snuck out of bed and just sat on the window sill to peek out at the world.

I even remember the early-morning dew on the window pane, and the single daffodil in a vase that smelled so heavenly. I remember the naughty feeling of having snuck out of bed early, and the fleeting impulse to dive back under the covers before I was discovered.

Do I remember my father sneaking up and taking a photo of me? Nope. Have I embellished and filled in the blanks of this "memory"? Almost certainly. That photo - taken and printed by my dad - sat in my bedroom for years, and it's almost impossible to pick it apart from the memory I have attached to it.

What a beautiful, peaceful moment to have locked away in my vault of life moments.

There's another, taken when I was maybe ten - plenty old enough to remember the moment - that has been displayed in my family home for nearly twenty years. I can conjure that image so clearly, but more than that: I can feel the evening sun on my face and the rough bark beneath my hands. It was the first time you could truly see me peeking through in my smile - the woman I grew up to be, not the child.

My father was incredibly good at capturing our childhood, for which I'll always be grateful. There are countless other precious moments stored in dusty 90s slip-in albums. Those are special too - but most of them haven't helped me keep the memories they contain, purely because they weren't around me. I know they're of me, and I've no doubt those moments existed, but I can't feel the sun on my face or smell the morning air the way I can with the photographs I grew up looking at every day.

Studies have even shown that photography helps boost children's self-confidence. Many educational psychologists believe displaying family portraits is especially beneficial for children - they see themselves as a valued, important part of the family unit. They know they are loved, and that they have a place in the world.

Would that beautiful moment on the window box exist for me if my father had not only taken it, but made the effort to print it and display it in our home? I'm certain it wouldn't - and I'm just as sure I wouldn't miss it. You can't miss something that doesn't exist. But my life feels a little happier for it, and that means something.

Your photographs are also for your now - not just for a profile photo and a few Instagram posts.

They are for your children next week, next month; when they're old enough to point out each family member, once they start school, and when they're grown enough that the photos now embarrass them. Even after you take them down off the walls to make room for holidays and grandkids, they'll carry those moments with them through the rest of their lives.

So whether you've invested in professional portraits or just taken a few holiday snaps sitting on a hard drive - this is your reminder to do something with them. Print them. Put them on the living room wall, and something small in a frame in your child's bedroom, so it's among the last things they see before sleep and one of the first each morning.

Give your children the gift of beautiful memories. ♡