Preserving Childhood Memories: More Than School Photos

Every year we take school photos.

Every year we get a yearbook.

And every year, our kids look a little taller, a little different.

But what actually changes the most from year to year isn’t how they look — it’s who they are.

What they’re obsessed with.

What makes them laugh.

What they’re proud of.

What they’re still working on.

That’s the part I never want to lose. For me, preserving childhood memories isn’t about saving more photos — it’s about holding onto who they were during this season of life.

So recently, we started experimenting with a simple idea at Rethink Yearbooks — using ChatGPT not to replace memories, but to help capture them.

Three Lines That Say More Than You Think

Here’s the prompt we’ve been using with families:

“Ariya is into ___”

“Ariya is very ___”

“Ariya struggles with ___”

That’s it. Three lines.

Not polished.

Not perfect.

Just honest.

Here’s what one parent wrote about their child:

Ariya is into miniatures, Rolife kits, art and craft, clay “blobs,” and makerspace. Ariya is very empathetic and thoughtful.Ariya struggles with impatience and wanting things immediately.

When you paste those three lines into ChatGPT and ask it to create a short description — or even a fun caricature — something kind of magical happens.

It doesn’t invent your child. It reflects them.

Because the raw material is yours.

Turning Words Into a Memory

Families are now using this in a few really beautiful ways:

• A short “Who I Am This Year” paragraph inside their child’s yearbook

• A playful AI-generated caricature showing their kid surrounded by what they love

• A printed page that goes into a keepsake box

  
  

In a Rethink Yearbooks custom page, this might sit next to their school photos — not replacing it, but adding depth to it.

So one day, when you flip back, you don’t just see a smile.

You see who that smile belonged to.

Why Preserving Childhood Memories Takes More than Photos

Kids change fast.

The things they love.

The things that frustrate them.

The things that make them who they are.

Photos are wonderful — but they don’t capture that.

Words do.

And when you save those words — year after year — you’re building something really powerful: a record of who your child was becoming.

Try It With Your Child

Sit down with them.

Ask them the three questions.

Write the answers together.

Then drop it into ChatGPT and see what comes back.

And when you’re ready, bring that page into your Rethink Yearbooks custom book or print it for a memory box.

Because the best keepsakes aren’t just pictures.

They’re stories.

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