Write down the thing a child said
Every parent believes they will remember. Almost none do, and the exact words are what disappear first.
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Why it lands
The specific phrasing — the mispronunciation, the odd logic, the question about death at the supermarket — vanishes within months and is not recoverable. Photographs preserve the face and nothing of the voice or the reasoning. A few lines written down at the time turn out to be the thing families reread most, and it takes thirty seconds at a point when nobody thinks it is necessary.
How
Keep a note on your phone and add a line the day it happens, with the date and their age. Record the exact words rather than a summary. Send it to the other parent, so two copies exist.
Answer if you want. It changes which ideas are shown first.
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A written list of what else helps in the same situation.
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