blogging replaces the baby book February 13, 2008
First Impressionist thinks blogs written by parents will ultimately be a good thing for the offspring whose exploits are chronicled:
How many of us 35+ year olds can boast of having some kind of historical play by play access to our parent’s thoughts regarding our developement and behavior?
Most baby books abandon record-keeping at age 7, and even then, only record specific accomplishments; first tooth, first doctor visit, school picture, etc..There are so many things a person experiences growing up and much of it is forgotten. It’s nice to think that current and future generations can do a web search and re-experience an innocuous afternoon outing, a particular Halloween, an afternoon movie, shopping for school clothes etc…and as an added bonus, see themselves through their parent’s perspective whether it be one of annoyance or amusement. I think being able to see the love behind each post will be reassuring as well.
I hope she’s right about kids eventually appreciating the public baby book thing because otherwise, my kids are gonna need even MORE therapy…
I feel compelled to mention that I never blog about 95% of the specifics of my kids’ lives, and that becomes even more the case as they get older…
For me, the blog really has pretty much replaced the traditional, hardcopy baby book. And my kids do seem to like being able to scroll back through our online scrapbook and see what we were doing on March 4, 2002…
I wholeheartedly agree. Blogging is fun and cathartic for me and there are so many things that even I forget as time goes by. My Aunt told me that when her first child went to kindergarten she took her second with her to the craft store and together they picked out specific colors and materials and then together they made a story quilt. They spent a lot of happy time together doing this. While she has very fond memories of this time her daughter remembers none of it! LOL. It’s nice to have a blog entry to remind you of time spent like that. And there are so many specifics that baby books don’t cover. What about those of us who don’t have money to decorate a nursery? Or didn’t use a crib? (Those were pages in baby books I have) I only had a baby shower for my first, yet there are pages for that in all baby books. I found there were never enough pages for just writing(I would use pages meant for stuff that didn’t apply to write more, but then it was scattered in different places). Blogging fits your personal needs much better. That said, I use both. It’s also nice to have something to flip through to see milestones and also the more detailed online scrapbook.
I actually set up a blog for Buddy. I decided I didn’t really want to blog about going to playgroup and sitting up and rolling over at my place. I do blog about parenting - but it’s from my point of view. And I do provide updates about Buddy, because I think some readers are interested.
But at his blog - it’s all Buddy all the time.
which is good especially since my family is all on the other side of the Atlantic.
I turned my entries and his entries into a baby book by making it into a photobook. So there is something to flip through. And unlike the traditional baby book, I was able to print extra copies for his grandparents.
Yes, I wonder what my kids will think of my blog. I just hope it never gets deleted! I wonder if I should print it out, or at least certain posts.