What do you think to the term “making memories” in regard to pretty normal stuff like say soft play or cinema

[JennyTals]

I mean I kinda get it if you’ve been to somewhere wonderful like on a really nice holiday or something

I'd say those were memorable times for me as a kid - I distinctly remember going to see certain films at the cinema - Spice World (and dressing up as a Spice Girl for this!), The lord of the rings, Harry Potter. These things used to be a treat (and I didn't come from a poor family, my family were always comfortable and we lived in a lovely 4 bed home). I don't take my son to softplay that often - a few times a year. This is a treat for him like it was for me.

It’s a phrase I've never used. You don't have to announce you're making memories, they just happen. Each to their own though.

I've just remembered my friends husband who says he doesn't remember much of his childhood because it was so boring.
If people need a prompt to do an activity with their kids, then that's better than not doing anything.

This

The "memories" in question are usually of the absolute shit show that made up 85 percent of the day - the bits that went unpictueed

The term has been so over used as to be nauseating and if people are using it in relation to going to soft play then it's clearly meaningless - not least because many people see soft play as somewhere to leave the kids to amuse themselves while they have a coffee and go on their phone.

A hundred percent this, with knobs on.

No to soft play. I never seen my dc when we went to soft play. The would go wild on the equipment occasionally running to get a drink from the table I was sat on. I wouldn't say we actually spent time together while there, the opposite actually.

Yes to the cinema. We never went to the cinema as a family when I was a child. I went with a cousin, my nan, once with my dad but never everyone together. We just couldn't afford it.

I wouldn't actually ever use the phrase 'making memories' but it is a nice treat/occasion.

This.
It’s extraordinarily mean spirited to police other people’s joy.

The sort of rubbish spouted by people who spend more time setting up photo opportunities rather than actually engaging and having fun. Best ignored. Smile and do what you can afford.

I’ve never said or thought of this phrase at any time.

My youngest daughter is terminally ill. The days she’s well enough to go to soft play or even mundane getting out stuff are making memories I, and her siblings, will treasure.

One of my elder DD’s favourite ever memories is a trip to the cinema. We had very little money when ex fucked off so it was a massive treat for her when we did go

Someone else’s phrasing or feelings have no real impact on your life so why not just leave them to do them and you do you.

Not for me but each to their own. You can’t make children make memories . Their memories are theirs. My son’s memory of New York was a giant pizza slice 🤪

Makes me laugh really. My son's are adults now but the memories they repeat are usually quite mundane things such as how when they went to the cinema with my Mum they were allowed to choose 3 sweets each from the pick and mix and she always brought a bread stick each for them. Or the time when we'd just landed at the airport and someone picked up their Dad's case by accident and he ended up running through the airport like a lunatic to try and get it back.

The making memories brigade will come to realise that the organised 'making memories' events will end up being overshadowed by the time the cat vomited into Dad's shoe! 😂

Christ I hate taking my sons to soft play. DS2 has to be followed around still at 6 years old and that's unlikely to stop anytime soon. I tend to fall asleep taking my two to the cinema. I can only think of a handful of children's films I have watched the whole way through at the cinema. Neither are making memories events! I can appreciate though that for some families they may not afford those things often. In our area a lot of families hold annual passes to our local soft play and our cinema is £4 a ticket.

There are only a few things we have done that I would put into memories context. One was taking my son to see the snowman when he was 4 and it was genuinely magical seeing his face light up. One of the things I will always remember I think. Another was taking DS2 recently to a Christmas event. He has never managed one before and he really engaged well with it. I cried seeing him engaged with an elf and copying the elf actions. It's something I never thought I would see.

I don't believe for one moment that you can 'make' memories.

I can still remember a cinema trip I made with my mum when I was a young child , similarly I remember going to the cinema with friends when I was a teenager, I even remember the films. Events don't need to be huge to be happy memories.

I think "making memories" is another example of where we have taken an everyday activity & we've given it a label or a # that can be used on social media/ Instagram etc. "Doing the school run" has become a thing, whereas when I was a child, my mum just took (walked) me to school! I've heard mum's say they've bought clothes that they can wear for the school run! How have we turned routine/mundane tasks into things that we then discuss or comment on? It's so they can be used on social media & people often use it for virtue signalling too.

Yes, only used ironically. As this morning on my flight by a man escorting eight hungover teenagers on a ski trip when one puked at the bottom of the plane steps and the other seven filmed him.

#makingmemories is something that people say to convince themselves that their children will remember what wonderful parents they are rather than what they'll actually remember which is a variety of:
Mum said they couldn't have a third go on the roundabout because they'll be sick
Then then were sick anyway in the car
Then dad wouldn't buy them an ice cream because they'd been sick
So Mum bought them one anyway.
Siblings#1 ice cream fell into the mud because they were balancing on one leg and dad said he wouldn't buy another
Sibling#1 hit them because they laughed
Sibling#2 then sat on the wrong side of the car
They were sick again and dad said "told you so" to mum.
Sibling#2 needed the toilet and they couldn't find one so ended up going behind a bush
And the best bit of the entire day was when they got back, they had jam sandwiches in their pyjamas.

🤣

So so cringe. I have a Facebook friend who would # a big poo as making memories if she thought her equally annoying friends would like it.

Watching a film at home with your kids doesn't need to be family film night/making memories.

The nicest memories I have with my dcs are about simple stuff like going to a garden, running in a ‘forest’ etc…
Not going to s a really unusual place.

’Making memories’ is about being intentional when you do those ‘not so special’ things. Intentional = being fully present.
If you’re not present and deep into your own mind chattering/worrying about what you’ll prepare for the next meal/next project at work/your phone/whatever but what’s in front of you, you’ll never fully experience them. You won’t really remember it either.

And in the end, what you’ll have are memories.

Ridiculous and cringey comment!

I don't think anything about it tbh. Kids might not remember the individual outings or events or whatever but they all melt into one general feeling of happiness and fun and that will hopefully be their overall memory of their childhood.

Unexpected and random things stick out, like the time we had to drive to the hospital for something in the absolute pouring, torrential rain and we couldn't see in front of us, or the time we didn't have any wellies so my children improvised with carrier bags on a walk to the woods, but il they're all part of the fun of it. They're stories to tell and laugh at.

I don't think anything sad or pathetic or desperate or cringe about people trying to create this with their dc and share the experience with their friends in photos.

Yes.

Kids remember what they remember!