It's so easy to get caught up in the swing of our daily routine and forget to put on love towards our children. I see mommies struggle with the sin of forgetfulness. Forgetting to put Christ first in their lives, forgetting that their children are only young once, forgetting to stop and take the time to enjoy what the LORD has blessed them with - their children.

As parents we are to put on love which is the bond of perfection, letting the peace of God rule in our hearts. Many adults have struggled with childhood memories because their parents had forgotten the love of Christ, perhaps they never put Christ on and focused on their own hearts desires rather than putting on tender mercies while raising their children.

Making special childhood memories is not hard to do, especially when you walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. Some of my precious moments were when my mother would tell me character stories as she held me in her arms, loving and tenderly. There were no books she read from but rather she made these stories up as she went along. The stories she told were filled with excitement and adventure.

I remember when she explained... Little Tommy wanted so much for his father to build him a tree house. When the day came to work on it, Tommy was just big enough to help hammer nails into the lumber but he wasn't wise enough to hammer carefully. When his father was holding the board, Tommy aimed for the nail carelessly, slammed the hammer down hitting his father's thumb instead! The moral of her story - be careful in what you do ... it may cause harm to others.

One thing I think about when setting time aside for my children, is that, as they get older and we remember these memories together - I want to recall giving them sweet "childhood memories" in a kind and gentle spirit. Let us remember that our role as mommy is to serve our children with kindness, humility, and meekness just as we would an adult. For it is so easy, to let our heart of compassion fall off and become forgetful of what it feels like to want a parent's attention. Harsh words can dart from our mouths with perfect aim, hitting the heart of our children and cause great damage to their soul.

As an adult it is important to create joyful childhood memories with our children so they can look back and smile. The daily blessings we create are memories we give to our children.  Children will remember the good memories much more than the bad! But as parents, it’s our responsibility to give them more good childhood memories to pick from. Here are 20 everyday fun ideas to help you begin. 

“20 Ways to Instill Heartfelt Memories with your Children” 

Holiday Traditions: Memories created are usually passed on to each generation during holidays. When I was a child we played a special game on Christmas Eve.  We had to look for the church and the house ornaments hidden on the Christmas tree, with only the tree lights on.  The person who found the ornaments got to open their gifts first. 

Everyday Traditions: Did you go every Sunday and eat lunch at your Grandparent’s house? This is an example of an everyday tradition.    

Crafts:  If you are not sure what crafts to do with your children you can always check out www.orientaltrading.com .  Or go to a local craft store.  You can also search on www.google.com for “free craft ideas” to get started. 

Day Trips:  There are many kinds of day trips that you can take with your children. An example would be a trip to the zoo.  Or a trip to a historical place in your state.  

Write a Story:  Write a story together. Start the first sentence of the story.  Each family member gets to take their turn adding to the story - a sentence at a time.  When you are finished with the story, type it up, print it out and put it into a binder. Make a special memory token for them.  When you want to add to it, you can write about a day trip that you took together as a family and have each person add to the story once again.   

Dinner-time Fun:  Play games at the dinner table.  One type of game is “The Island Game.”  Pretend you are stranded on a deserted island and have Dad ask the questions.  These questions are to help the children think of what is important.  For example, “If you could bring only one item to the island, what would it be?”  Another game to play at the table is, “I spy with my little eye.”  Each person goes around the table and tells the family what they are spying on.  Each person then gets 5 guesses.   

Color with Your Children:  No matter the age, it is important to sit together and color.  

Take quiet moments to snuggle on the couch no matter how old your child is and talk about your day.   

Camp-Out: Camp-out inside your house.  Pick a different room to camp in once a month. 

Baking or Cooking with your child instills some great memories.  Try doing it as a family event and don’t forget to include Dad, too. 

Games:  Playing board games is a great way to get the family together.  Laugh and have fun. 

Night-time Memories:  Take time with your children every night to have a special routine at bedtime - read a bedtime story or have a special way you say goodnight to each other. 

Ask Your Child Every Day:  “What nice thing did you do today for someone else?”  This will help instill in your child the desire to be good to other people and also to have accountability.  Before you know it, your children will be coming to tell you what nice thing they did even before you have a chance to ask them. 

Special Time for Each Child:  If you have more than one child, make sure you set “special” time aside for each one of them.  For example, Monday is Susie’s day to go with Mom on her errands.    

Sing Songs together in the car. 

Play Car Games while traveling.  An example is a game called the Alphabet Game.  Find each letter of the alphabet on the road signs as they go by.  This can help shorten up a long trip and also helps the younger kids with their ABC’s.   

Take Pictures of an outing and put them together in a scrapbook.  

Memory Strings:  Help children to create their own memory string with a long piece of yarn and clothespins.  Take a piece of yarn and hang it up in the corner of the living room.  Each child may have their own corner or space with their own string.  Then attach different items of their choice (what kid doesn’t like to be in charge?) to their own memory string.  Talk about each memory as you are hanging it up and why it is special to them.  Take an index card and attach it to the back of the memory item.  Every month or so add an item to their memory string.  When taking the memory string down, compile the items into a scrapbook or have the child help you with their own scrapbook. 

Professional Reviewer:  Have your child take a notebook with them on outings. Let your child write about how they would rate the place or event. Would they recommend it to their friends?  Have a notebook for each year and when they graduate display them on the table. 

Newsletter:  Have your child make up their own newsletter or make it a family newsletter and put it out once a month. 

Adela Osmond is co-owner and author of Plant the Word Book and with CD accompaniment, which is available at www.TrainUpChildren.com.  The Plant the Word Activity Guide is based on fifty-one selected Bible topics with 100+ family-fun Bible activities that tie in with it.  There are 179 colorful Bible Verse Worksheets and twenty-two Sow-the-Word Worksheets that can be displayed in the home to enhance recitation or be given away as a word of encouragement to others.