Stories from parents

Stories from parents. All YearChapter articles in this category, about capturing memories for your child together.

An open notebook on a wooden table next to an old framed photograph, warm lateral daylight coming in from a window

What you pass on to a child about people they never knew

Some people are no longer here when your child comes into the world. Yet you can give them a place in your child's life, if you know what you want to pass on.

A mother sits at a kitchen table with a cup of coffee and an open notebook, soft daylight coming through a window, warm and calm atmosphere

What to do when your child is growing up and you barely kept track of the first year

You did not keep track of the first year and now your child is getting bigger. What you can still do, and why it is not too late.

An adult hand holding an open notebook on a wooden table, soft daylight coming through a window on the left side, warm tones, calm composition

What your child will have of you when you are no longer here

Not as a grand thought, but as a simple question: what remains of who you were as a parent? Leaving memories for your child starts small.

An open notebook on a hospital bedside table next to a small soft toy, gentle daylight coming through a window in the background

What to do with memories of when your child was ill and you would rather not look back

Not everything you have been through is something you want to keep. But sometimes time changes what a memory means to you.

An open notebook on a wooden table, beside two small pairs of children's shoes in different sizes, soft daylight coming from the side

What happens to memories when your second child arrives

When a second child comes along, something shifts in the memories of your first. Not because you forget them, but because time starts moving differently.

A toddler sits on a parent's lap looking at an open book of photos, soft daylight falling through a window onto the pages

What you can already share with your toddler about who they were as a baby

Your toddler is long past the baby stage, but the story of that first year does not have to be lost. You can share it with them now, in a way that fits who they are today. Your toddler is long past the baby stage, but the story of that first year does not have to be lost. You can share it with them now, in a way that fits who they are today.

Two hands holding an open notebook together on a wooden table in soft daylight

What to do when you and your partner remember the same moment very differently

You were both there, but your memories do not match. That is normal, and it is actually something to value.

A mother and child sitting together on a sofa, warm daylight through a window, an old photo album open on their laps

Talking with your child about the early years when you have barely written anything down

Many parents only realise how little they have recorded when their child starts asking questions. That is not a failure, but a beginning.

An open journal on a wooden table in soft morning light, with a small children's shoe beside it and a cup of coffee in the background

What you forget when your child is no longer so small

The big milestones you still remember well. But the small things, what an ordinary Tuesday felt like, have slipped away more quietly than you ever expected.

An open notebook on a wooden table next to a cup of tea, soft daylight falling through a window onto the pages

When your child wants to know who they were as a baby

One day your child asks the question you did not see coming. How do you make sure you have something to tell them?

An open notebook on a wooden table next to a small children's shoe, soft morning light falling through a window

Why your child won't want to know how perfect it all was

Capturing memories for your child is not about beautiful photos and carefully chosen words. It is about what was really there.

An open notebook on a wooden table beside a small baby sock, soft morning light falling through a window

Keeping track of the first year: why it is harder than you expected

The first year flies by while you barely get the chance to capture anything. Here is how to do it anyway, without it becoming a chore.

Grandad holding a baby on his lap

"The book her grandad never got."

A mother lost her father before her daughter was born. This is how YearChapter became a way to let him read along in his granddaughter's book.

Father holding his baby

"Only after a year did we understand what we had captured."

Parents Sanne and Tijmen leafed through their YearChapter book after a year. This is what they saw, what they had forgotten, and why they keep writing.