5 important and beneficial things I did for my kids after they were born!
Having a baby can be so overwhelming and the first few months will be very tiring and challenging. However, it’s unbelievable how fast babies grow and you will soon forget all the sleepless nights, the dark circles around your eyes and the fact that you felt like a walking ghost every morning for the first few weeks.
It’s now time to treasure all the precious moments with your little one and think about what you can do for their future so that they will also remember the times when they were little.
First on my list is to open a children’s saving bank account and transfer money into their account every month.
The best thing to do is to transfer their Child Benefit money, but if you can’t afford to do that, set an amount that you can afford and make sure you do it every single month.
Let’s say that you transfer £10 a month for 20 years. That will be £2,400 which could still be a nice 20th birthday present. However, the more money you deposit, the better! Do your research very carefully and choose a bank that gives you the best interest rate.
I am hoping to give them the money when they get married. It will be a great wedding gift to help the new start-up family. However, you never know when they will get married or if they will ever do that, so if you do have a good enough reason such us buying their first car, or their first house, you could give it to them then.
Create an email address for them. Make it a professional email address, as simple as possible.
Send them emails every month for their first year and then occasionally after that. Write about everything: their first steps, their first tooth, first time they had solid food, their first “ma-ma” and “da-da” … all the precious moments!
You will forget tiny details with years but when looking at those emails, it will bring back the memories and a smile to your face and hopefully, a smile to your child’s face. Give them the email address and password on their 14th birthday since that’s about the time when they will need an email address for school, part time jobs, etc.
If emails are not your favourite, going traditional can be even more precious and meaningful. Buy a big, beautiful notebook and start to write on it and attach lots of pictures. And I mean it: lots!
Take loads of pictures of your baby, especially in their first year. Take one every month on their birthday for the first 12 months just to see how they have grown and create a collage to put on their bedroom wall.
Only keep the nicest and don’t have many of them that look the same. There is no reason to keep 1000s of pictures and occupy unnecessary memory. I strongly recommend to print all the pictures taken and keep them in albums, since it’s very easy to lose them, unless you purchased a back-up plan. It happened to me twice and I lost thousands of pictures.
Also, it’s a great idea to have a family photo-shoot and frame photographs to hang on your walls!
Keep their cutest and favourite clothes and toys and hopefully, they could use them for their own children.
I would have loved to have some of the clothes that I wore when I was little. I would have loved it even more if I could dress my daughters (if I ever have a daughter!) with them.
picture with me as a baby + picture with my daughter as a baby wearing the same dress = #themostadorablething?
Lastly, take your children to different places all the time. It’s better to entertain them outside than inside the house in front of a TV or computer games.
It’s recommended that children under 2 shouldn’t be allowed any screen time at all. From 2 to 5 years old, screen time should be limited to a maximum of 2h, but high quality and educational shows.
I much prefer to take them to parks; playgroups; soft play centres; tourist attractions; visit family and friends; play sports and take them to swimming; etc.
Once they reach an age when they understand more and they are easier to look after, go on holidays at least once a year. Visit different cities, different countries, see different cultures. Travel and enjoy life! God created this beautiful world for us to explore!
