As your baby grows into a toddler and then into a little boy or girl, you'll collect a mass of scribbles, artwork, craft, models and all sorts of other creations.  Many of these will carry evocative memories, perhaps their first colouring in, their first writing, their early scribbles, the first time they wrote their name.  You probably won't want to keep all of your little one's art, but keep a scrapbook of some, and find a wall to hang some of their art too.  One important thing is to add dates to their work so that when you are looking back on it in years to come, you can chart their progression.

In addition to dating work, you could also make a few notes to remind you of the context under which the artwork was created.  Write simple notes like 'First day at nursery', 'Our day out at ...' and so on.  This will give you a gallery of your little one's work that you can return to and keep your early memories alive!

Think back to your childhood and remember how life was when you were growing up at home with your parents - whether your childhood was a happy one or not, casting your mind back will bring a floods of memories.  Remember that every day you spend with your children, every outing you go on, every incident that takes place, all helps to shape the memories that they will reflect on in the future! Think about this for a moment and try to keep this thought in mind.

You are in an amazing position to shape the lives of your children; you should aim to be a positive role model and always strive to ensure their experiences and therefore memories are happy ones.  There's no accounting for what incidents your children will remember in the years to come.

Think back to your earliest childhood memories and no doubt you can remember some very unremarkable incidents that bore little importance at the time.  Your children, similarly, will be affected by some of the more mundane incidents in their lives that turn them into events that just recur in their minds, on occasions, throughout their lives.  Each day, reflect on the fact that whatever happens today, your children might harbour the memory forever, so try to make each day exciting - do fun things, make things, go places.  You needn't lavish money on your children, just a walk in a new park or making some craft might give your children a thought that they can hang on to!