We don't have billions - try to only keep the good stuff - but what we do have the kids enjoy flipping through. They like seeing younger versions of themselves.

Nothing goes on social media. Just our thing.

We have done one or two Shutterfly books every year. I guess that will work out to about thirty books by the time the youngest is an adult. They are so skinny compared to an old fashioned photo album that the ten we have so far probably take up less space than two old fashioned photo albums. So I figure if these things are still around when I am clearing out my home someday, each kid can take one third of them and it will take up all of 6 inches on their bookshelf. And if they don’t want them, they can toss them, but we will presumably have enjoyed them for decades by then, so it’s all good.

I keep them stored in albums on Amazon Drive. They are on a screensaver on our Amazon Show so we get to see a slideshow throughout the day in our kitchen. The only printed photos I have are framed or in a small baby book I made for each kid.

I am pretty good about staying on top of keeping photos organized in online albums on the cloud. But I only upload the “best” that I truly want to keep. Maybe someday my kids will want access to them or will want me to email them a few favorites. If not, at least I’m not giving them boxes of unwanted stuff to throw out.

I can’t believe how many boxes of photos, yearbooks, art projects, sports trophies, etc. my parents held onto from my childhood that I just don’t want or have room for. I feel bad, but I really don’t want stuff. I’ve vowed not to weigh my kids down like that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe stop taking a pic of your kid every time they eat a snack or play on a swing? You know -- the things that kids have done every day of their lives for generations that don't need to be memorialized bc OMG it's soooo cute. Guess what he looks the same eating yogurt today as he did yesterday and the day before that.

Actually that's the kind of pic I wish I had from my childhood -- everyday things. My family took pictures on vacations and holidays and special occasions. Those are nice, but I also wish we had pictures of our regular old weekday dinners or at the park -- things that made up the everyday fabric of my childhood and which I remember fondly. Nobody ever took pictures of a regular dinner because it wasn't special -- it was what we ate everyday. My mom was a great cook, weekday dinners were the best, and now those days are gone (along with her). Wish I had some more photos of "a day in the life..."

+1

Anonymous wrote:Maybe stop taking a pic of your kid every time they eat a snack or play on a swing? You know -- the things that kids have done every day of their lives for generations that don't need to be memorialized bc OMG it's soooo cute. Guess what he looks the same eating yogurt today as he did yesterday and the day before that.

Actually that's the kind of pic I wish I had from my childhood -- everyday things. My family took pictures on vacations and holidays and special occasions. Those are nice, but I also wish we had pictures of our regular old weekday dinners or at the park -- things that made up the everyday fabric of my childhood and which I remember fondly. Nobody ever took pictures of a regular dinner because it wasn't special -- it was what we ate everyday. My mom was a great cook, weekday dinners were the best, and now those days are gone (along with her). Wish I had some more photos of "a day in the life..."

Create hard back books that I keep and/or send to grandparents. Plenty of places will create them inexpensively.

I wish I had more photos of my childhood. Especially moments with my late Grandfather.

Just save them. It’s not really difficult, your kids may want them many decades from now and they are irreplaceable. Keeping them doesn’t harm anything at all but losing them forever is a potential tragedy. Easy decision.

No advice, but I heard a joke once (maybe a New Yorker cartoon?) about how in the future someone will say "hey want to see 10,000 pictures of my great grandfather?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put the phone away and enjoy your kids. Take pics sometimes but you don’t have to document every moment. The kids will be better off if you just put the phone in your bag and leave it for a while.

word.

...and please stop posting NON-stop on social media. I'm just going to block you.

Block me. The pictures are not for you.

I print a Social Book every year or 2, they are very thin.

I don't have 1 picture from my parents as a child, a few friends sent me some from my teen years when I told them.

I think pictures are important but not a million.

Anonymous wrote:Put the phone away and enjoy your kids. Take pics sometimes but you don’t have to document every moment. The kids will be better off if you just put the phone in your bag and leave it for a while.

word.

...and please stop posting NON-stop on social media. I'm just going to block you.

I don't have billions of pics of my kids. I generally don't take a pic more than once or twice a month of the kids, and that's mostly so if they go missing I have a "recent" picture to give police. Some of them are not good or the kid was going through an awkward phase so I delete it.

When we go to the park, I don't take a picture and two videos. When they're at gymnastics I don't take four pictures. When they have a playdate, I don't take pictures.

A friend of mine shoves her phone in her son's face all the time, and he's only four but so annoyed by it.