What I’m hearing from so many parents is that one of the hardest parts of this pandemic is their children’s loss of social interaction. Playing with other children helps develop their personality, as well as create self-esteem. What do you do when your child can no longer be social and play with friends? How do you encourage that grown and build self-worth in them?
“Feelings of high or low self-worth often start in childhood. Family life that is riddled with disapproval can follow a person into adult life. Low self-esteem can also become a problem because of a poor school environment or a dysfunctional workplace. Likewise, an unhappy relationship can also alter a person’s self-worth.” (Click here to read the full article)
I feel very strongly in what Missy Mwac says in the image above. Growing up, my family had photos of us (as a family) on the walls and in albums. Every time I walked by those walls I had a sense of belonging and home-life. I knew that my parents valued their daughters. Having family photographs taken as we were growing up was an investment in our future.
I spoke with a mom a couple of days ago, during our discovery call, and she told me that she had newborn photos taken of her first two girls and how important it is that she now gets them done of her newest baby. She didn’t want her newest to feel left out or that they didn’t care.
Growing up, I had friends who said they only had a couple of photos from their childhood and how it crushed them. They were heartbroken that they weren’t going to have the memories to show their own children or even to simply remember what it was like growing up.
Photographs are important.
Yes, take those cellphone photos, I actually encourage it. But, don’t forget that your children want you in the photographs, as well. I’m so glad that I have pictures of me, as a young child, with my parents. I can see our entire family unit together. I get to see the way my dad held me when I was a baby and the way my mom would feed me in my high chair. I don’t know this side of my parents without those photographs because I was too young to remember.
Then, you have photos of us together when I was graduating high school, dances, etc. I do remember those times and I also recall my parents and sister being there. Having those photos always brings me back to those celebrations and I can’t imagine not having them documented.
If you’ve been looking for ways, not only during Covid, to build your children’s self-esteem then get those photographs taken!
Photographs are some of those rare things that increase in value over the years. They also increase your child’s self-worth.
Inez contacted me about photographing her family. I immediately emailed her back and we set up a phone consultation. We talked about how her girls were growing so fast and she didn’t have any recent photographs of them. We went over ideas of photographing in her home and why it was important to capture this time in their lives.
Here is the magic we created that day. I’m so glad that Inez and her family will forever be able to look back at this time in their lives. While I love the way these look on my blog, it is so much more satisfying that they will be in this family’s home.
