Blog · 6 min read
What to put in a family album for your kids (a parent’s checklist)
Most parents have thousands of photos of their kids and almost no idea where to start with them. The good news is that a family album for your kids does not have to hold everything. It needs to hold the right things: the moments, voices, and small details that your children will want to know about when they are older. Here is a practical checklist to help you decide what goes in.
Start with the question your kids will ask someday
Kids grow up and start asking questions. What was I like when I was little? What did you think when you first held me? Why did we move? What was our house like? A family album is really a set of answers to those future questions. Keep that in mind and choosing what to include gets much easier.
1. The everyday photos, not just the big days
Birthday parties and holidays will get photographed no matter what. The pictures that tend to be missing are the ordinary ones, and those are often the ones kids love most later. Try to include:
- Breakfast on a regular weekday morning.
- Their bedroom as it really looked, mess and all.
- Bath time, bedtime routines, and the stuffed animal that went everywhere.
- The car you drove them around in and the view from their car seat.
- Walks to school, the park you always went to, the kitchen you cooked in.
- Pictures of the parents, too. Kids often find there are very few photos of whoever was holding the camera.
2. The stories behind the photos
A photo of a toddler covered in spaghetti is cute. A photo with the note “You refused a fork for the entire summer you were two” is a treasure. Add a sentence or two to the photos that matter most: what was happening, what they said, what you were feeling.
If you are not sure what to write, our questions to ask guides can help you think about the stories worth keeping. They also make great prompts for the other adults in your kids’ lives.
3. Their words and their voices
The way a three-year-old says “basgetti” or a six-year-old explains how rainbows work disappears quickly. Short voice recordings and videos capture what photos cannot. A few ideas:
- A minute of them telling you about their day.
- Them singing a favorite song, wrong words and all.
- Their answers to the same questions each birthday: favorite food, best friend, what they want to be.
- Funny things they said, written down the day they said them.
4. Letters from you to them
One of the most meaningful things you can add is a short letter to your child, written now, for them to read later. It does not need to be long or polished. Tell them what they are like right now, what you love about them, and what you hope for them. Many parents write one each birthday.
5. Notes from the people who love them
Your kids are surrounded by people who will shape them: aunts and uncles, godparents, family friends, coaches, teachers, neighbors. Invite a few of them to add a photo and a few lines, such as a favorite memory with your child, or something they hope your child knows. These notes become a picture of the whole circle of people who cared for them.
If you would like ideas for what to ask the adults in your family about their own childhoods, try our guides on questions to ask your mom and questions to ask your dad. Those stories belong in your kids’ album too.
6. Family history and traditions
Kids love knowing where they come from. Include a few pages about your family’s story:
- How their parents met, told by each parent.
- Where the family came from and how you got where you are.
- Holiday traditions and why you do them.
- Family recipes, ideally in someone’s handwriting.
- The meaning behind their name.
7. The details that fade first
Some memories quietly slip away. These are worth capturing on purpose:
- Height marks and handprints, photographed with a date.
- Their first drawings and school projects, photographed before they get recycled.
- Nicknames and where they came from.
- Favorite shows, books, toys, and snacks at each age.
- The sounds of your home: the dog barking, the music you played on Saturday mornings.
How to keep it manageable
The biggest reason family albums never happen is that they feel like a huge project. A few habits help:
- Pick a rhythm. Once a month, choose your ten favorite photos and add them with a line each.
- Delete the near-duplicates. Keep the best one of the five nearly identical shots.
- Share the work. Invite your partner, the other side of the family, or close friends to add their own photos.
- Do not wait for it to be perfect. An album with gaps is far better than no album at all.
Digital or printed?
Printed albums are wonderful on a coffee table, but they are hard to keep adding to and usually exist as a single copy. A digital family album can hold photos, videos, and voice notes together, can be opened by relatives in different places, and keeps growing as your kids do. You can read more on our digital family album page.
How Afterlife Album can help
Afterlife Album lets you gather photos, written memories, and recorded voices into one private album, and invite the people who love your kids to add their own. Contributors sign in with a short code sent to their email, with no app to install, and can record straight from their browser.
One album is $79. If you would like one album for each child, the 4-album package is $249. Not sure which is right for your family? Take the 2-question quiz. And if someone in your family has passed, our guide to the memorial photo album and the veteran memorial album can help you include them in your kids’ story.
Start with one small moment
Tonight, pick one photo from this week and write two sentences about it. Then ask your child one question and record the answer. That is the beginning of a family album your kids will be glad you made.
Not sure which fits? Take the 2-question quiz.
Questions? We’re here.
Call 714-559-4979 or email memories@afterlifealbum.com