The day you got married. Your babies. A professional photo shoot. A family holiday to the coast, or cairns, or Europe. The first days of school. The Christmas of 2016. Visiting the grandparent’s farm. Or that perfect selfie.

What do all these things have in common? Not only do they come with memories attached, but they are usually all events in which photos, portraits or happy snaps are taken. 

Nowadays, with camera phones, photos are less a luxury and more just part of living. We take photos of a great meal or a milestone event with equally the same importance, yet most of the time these precious salvaged memories are either kept on devices, stored on hard drives or put on the Facebook wall, only to be dredged up five years down the track when you happen to see a ‘memory’ pop up on your daily scroll.

Physical home walls have been traded in for digital counterparts, albums for folders, and our buffets remain bare – unless it’s for the occasional antique or Kmart Llama planter (you know you have one…). We have found it easier and of more value to store our memories this way – it’s especially ingenious when moving house, as the only thing we have to remember to grab is a computer when on the go.

But what if I told you that dusting off these virtual files and taking them to your local copy centre or printer, putting them in frames, and hanging them on your walls or on shelves could actually benefit your family in a huge way? What if I said going to get portraits or a family shoot done and hanging the resulting works of art in pride of place could boost your child’s self-esteem and development?

You’d probably think I was selling an ideal. But here’s the thing: displaying family portraits or photos from family events around your home can encourage healthy development in your child’s self-esteem, sense of belonging and personal identity.

Wow! It’s crazy to think something so simple and a thing we take for granted could mean so much to the little people in our lives.

It’s already known that the way to strengthen a child’s identity, self-esteem, sense of community and family identity is to show them photos, tell them family stories and to involve them in community or cultural events.

This is such a popular concept that even schools see the benefits, encouraging children to bring and stick up family photos on the classroom wall to help them gain a sense of belonging, acceptance and love that’ll help boost confidence in a place that’s not home. 

And even the simple gesture of hanging a framed photo on a wall or placing a 4”x6” on a prominent shelf at home has the same, if not more, benefits for a child.

Displayed family photos gives any house a child lives in a sense of home. It tells them they are loved and supported, that they are part of something important and are themselves important, that this is their number ‘0’ spot – the place they can come to no matter what is happening in life. Knowing they have a place gives children confidence to grow.

Family photos strengthens relationships and bonds between children and parents, and siblings. It strengthens the relationships continually maintained in the family unit.

Family portraits say to a child that they have a safe, secure place and enforces family values, such as kindness, love, respect and happiness.

It helps kids to look back on and remember the good times, heck even the funny or embarrassing times they had with their family, after the memory has long faded. It reminds them of the existing relationships they have with friends and family.

And lastly, family photos are important for nostalgic reasons when kids grow up, and provides them with something they can look back on and share with their kids, along with family narratives, to instil a continuing sense of family identity for the next generation.

So even though it might be old-hat, getting photos printed and displaying them with pride around the house has lasting benefits for you and your family – which is something that will never go out of style.

What are some of your fondest photo memories? What’s on your photo wall? Share with us!

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