Alana Harrington
Summer always seems to slip by too fast. One minute you’re pulling out the beach towels, and the next, you’re hunting for school supplies.
Parents try to freeze time with photos and videos—just trying to capture a slice of childhood before it changes again. But sometimes, in the rush to record everything, you end up missing the moment itself.
You scroll through pictures of your kids jumping into a lake, and all you can think is, I don’t even remember watching that happen.
That’s the problem no one wants to admit: in trying to remember everything, we stop actually living it. So how do you hold onto summer without turning it into a highlight reel? You get intentional. You make it feel real again.
Let the Moments Be Messy
Not everything needs to be framed. Some of the best memories come with crooked sunglasses, half-melted ice cream, and kids yelling over each other while chasing bubbles.
That chaos? It’s gold. But it doesn’t always look cute on camera, so parents step in, trying to tidy it up before snapping the shot. Suddenly the moment’s gone.
It’s okay if the picnic isn’t Pinterest-worthy. It’s okay if your kid’s hair looks like they lost a fight with a sprinkler. If you keep pausing for fun to “get the shot,” they start noticing. And they stop being themselves. That’s when you get posed smiles instead of real ones.
When you let the moment stay messy, it actually sticks in your memory longer. You were in it, not editing it in your head.
The Clothes You Pack Can Set the Tone
You know how your mood can shift depending on what you’re wearing? Kids feel that too. When they’re dressed in scratchy, stiff outfits they don’t like, they start to squirm. And they don’t relax. But when they’ve got clothes that let them move and breathe—something soft, stretchy, and made for play—it changes the day. They stop pulling at their shirts. They forget about wedgies. They just go.
That’s why having the right boys or girls swimsuits packed can do more than get them ready for the water. The right one becomes their go-to for running through sprinklers, lounging on pool chairs, or pretending the front yard is a water park.
When you pick one that fits well and feels good, they won’t beg to change out of it five minutes in. You’ll spend less time digging through bags for backup clothes and more time soaking up the sun with them.
Unplugging Doesn’t Mean Forgetting
Everyone’s afraid they’ll forget things if they don’t take a million pictures. But studies keep showing that when you photograph something, you often remember less about it. That’s because your brain offloads the job to the camera. It assumes you’ve got it saved, so it doesn’t store it in the same way.
When you put your phone down and watch your kid catch their first fish, your brain actually holds onto it better. The way the air smelled, the sound of the splash, the look on their face.
It’s all clearer. That doesn’t mean no photos at all. Take a few. But don’t live behind the lens. Be the one clapping, cheering, hugging. Not the one telling them to wait while you switch to portrait mode.
Make Traditions That Don’t Depend on Wi-Fi
The memories that last tend to be the ones tied to traditions. You don’t have to invent anything wild—just pick something that your family does every summer and make it stick. Maybe it’s a pancake breakfast on the deck every Sunday, or a day where everyone gets to pick one snack and one activity, no complaints allowed. Maybe it’s a walk around the neighborhood at sunset with no shoes and no destination.
One family started doing “backyard movie night” with a sheet and a projector, and now their kids talk about it all year long. Another one always builds a cardboard boat and tests it in the lake, knowing full well it’ll sink.
These kinds of traditions take no scrolling, no hashtags, and no comparison. They’re yours. They work whether you’re camping, road-tripping, or on giant cruise ships with twenty things happening at once. They ground your family in something familiar—even when the summer gets unpredictable.
Let Them Take the Lead Sometimes
Adults tend to plan summer like a production. Times, checklists, activities. But kids rarely remember the stuff we organize down to the minute.
They remember when they got to choose. When they picked dinner or decided which trail to take. When they got to wear a snorkel in the bathtub because they weren’t ready to stop pretending.
If you’re always steering the wheel, they’re just along for the ride. Give them a turn. Say yes to the weird detour. Let them lead the way through a museum, even if you end up lost in the gift shop.
These are the moments that surprise you. They’re the ones that get retold at family dinners years later, with everyone laughing. That only happens when you leave room for the unexpected.
The Memory Is Already Enough
You don’t need to capture every second to make summer matter. You don’t need perfect photos to prove you had a good time. What you need is to be there—in it, with them—while it’s happening. Trust that your brain, and your heart, will hold onto the things that count. Because the best memories don’t live in your camera roll. They live in you.
