A Birthday Interview: Capturing Your Child’s Favorite Memories Each Year!
A birthday interview is a special way to capture your child’s interests at each age as well as creating a keepsake to treasure for years to come!
It doesn’t really matter whether you are 8, or 80, everyone is a big kid on their birthday! Whether you share your birthday with a sibling (like my twins… and I’m not a twin, but I do too) or not, it just kind of feels like the day was made just for YOU!
I think this is a great feeling, and it’s something that I want my children to enjoy. You see, with a larger family (not that 4 kids is that large), our kids have to spend a lot of there lives sharing with and waiting on each other. And while I think this is one of the blessings of a big family, they have to learn it’s not all about them, occasionally it’s nice when it is! I often laugh and say that my oldest child could divide by 3 before he was 4, because he had 2 younger brothers and I was always asking him to split things up between them! Lol!
I want them to have the chance to have their own time, when they get to pick where we eat after church, they pick the kind of cake they want, and they decide if they want to have a party or go somewhere special. I want them to feel truly special and important, because they really are!
One way to make your children feel extra special on their big day, it to do a “Birthday Interview”! I love this idea! There are so many good reasons to do a Birthday Interview with your child!
Get Your Child’s perspective On Their Year
Life can be so busy and it can be easy for us to rush thru these special occasions without really connecting with our children. And what better way to connect with them than to get the highlights of the last year of their life from their perspective!
Make Your Birthday Interview A Date!
You can even make it a date and take them out to breakfast or ice cream. Take the time to talk with them about their day, school, whatever, and then ask the questions for your “interview”. This will get them warmed up and ready to talk about the special memories that they have over the past year!
And let me add, if you are a parent of multiples (like me), make a real effort to do this interview completely separate from the other sibling(s)! I am preaching to myself here! It is so easy for us to see our twins, triplets, etc as a unit instead of individuals… not because they are so similar, but because they do most everything together, simultaneously. So take the extra time to get them one-on-one and talk to them!
Not taking the time to really talk to my kids is something I am so guilty of. I am so task oriented, that many of my conversations with my kids revolves around, “Did you get your homework done…. Did you practice violin…. Did you brush your teeth?” Ugh! But creating a time to connect with them would in and of itself make a special memory! If it’s especially busy in your life, no sweat! Give yourself the grace to just relax with your child after supper, maybe over dessert (or even do it the week or two before or after their birthday if that is easier)!
Let Them See That You Value What They Think
Not only will this special time help your child to see that you care enough to listen, it will also make them feel valued, because they know that you want to remember what they have said! It is important for our children to feel heard. This is one area that I can improve on! Sometimes my boys start telling me all about Lego character and after about 30 seconds they might as well be speaking Greek! But let’s take time to talk about the important things with our children. And not just talk, but listen when they talk (even if it’s about Legos! lol!)! What a special gift that would be for their birthday!
A Birthday Interview Creates a Special Memory
Not only will your time together create a special memory, but the interview itself will be something that you can keep and look back on. I know my children love looking back at their baby books! These birthday interviews can be kept in a photo album or binder. You may want to keep it with some other pictures of their birthday celebration so it can be a special treasure for them also.
It’s Fun and Free
This can be something enjoyable for both you and your child, and it won’t cost a thing! I have created a free printable that you can download so that you can have your own birthday Interview!
So maybe this will be a new birthday tradition in your family! (Check out my post on other great birthday traditions here!). I hope you enjoy making these special memories with the sweet little one that the Lord has entrusted you with!
Let me know what you think of this Birthday Interview! Is this a new tradition for your family? Are there any questions that you would like to see added?
Want to save this great birthday tradition? Pin this Birthday Interview post to your favorite Pinterest board!
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