How to remember the funny things your kids say

You know the moment. You’re driving, or wiping a sticky face, or half listening while you look for the other shoe, and your little one comes out with something so funny you have to pull over or put the cloth down. You say out loud, “I have to remember that.” And by bedtime, it’s gone. You remember that it was funny. You just can’t remember the words.

That happens to every mom and dad, and it’s no wonder. You’re holding a hundred things in your head at once. A brand-new sentence from a three-year-old doesn’t stand a chance against the dentist appointment and the permission slip.

Here’s how to hold on to more of them, without turning it into one more chore.

They won’t remember it either

This is the part that gets a lot of parents. The things your child says at three are things they almost certainly won’t remember saying.

In one study, Patricia Bauer and Marina Larkina had mothers talk with their three-year-olds about things they’d done together, then asked the children about those same events years later. At five, six and seven, the children still remembered 60% or more of them. By eight and nine, they remembered fewer than 40%. Most of us remember very little from before we started school, and our kids are no different.

So if those words are going to be kept, you’re the one keeping them. That sounds like a lot of pressure, but it isn’t. All it takes is a few seconds and somewhere to put them.

What to write down

When your little one says something you want to keep, three things matter most.

1. Their exact words. Don’t tidy them up. “I goed” is the whole point. If you fix the grammar, you lose the kid.
2. What was happening. “In the bath, after she’d been very quiet for a while.” The moment around the words is often what makes them funny, and it’s the first thing you’ll forget.
3. How old they were. Not just the date. “3 years 7 months” tells you so much more when you read it back in ten years.

That’s it. You don’t need to write why it was funny. Future you will know.

A word on that grammar, because it’s the bit most parents are tempted to fix. Somewhere between two and three, kids start adding “-ed” and “-s” to words (ASHA’s milestones list both), and for a while they put them on everything: “goed”, “eated”, “mouses”. Researchers who studied thousands of these found they come and go from the twos into the school years, and then they’re gone. Those are exactly the words worth keeping as they were said.

Pick one place

The trick is having one place, so you never have to think about where it goes. Here are the ones most families try, and what each is good at.

A note on your phone

It’s always with you and it takes a few seconds. The catch is that it gets buried under grocery lists and parking spots, and a year later you can’t find it. If you go this way, make one note just for this, pin it to the top, and add the newest at the top too.

A voice memo

Lovely, because you can hear exactly how they said it. Harder to find later, since they all end up called “New Recording 47”. Rename it as soon as you stop recording, with their name and what they said.

A jar or a notebook on the fridge

Scraps of paper in a jar are a real joy to read out on New Year’s Eve or a birthday. The downside is that the best lines tend to happen in the car, far from the jar. Keep a little notebook in your bag too, and move the scraps over when you get home.

Texting it to someone

Some moms text their partner, their mom or their sister every time. It’s quick, it makes someone else smile, and it’s dated for you. It just gets mixed in with everything else you send, and it’s hard to gather up later.

An app made for it

This is the one place that’s built for exactly this job, which is why we made Wamemba me. It’s launching soon on iPhone and Android. One press from the Lock Screen, the Action button or Back Tap (or a quick tile on Android), repeat what they just said or type it, and it keeps their exact words with the date and their exact age worked out for you. When they say it again, you can keep their voice too. A whole back-and-forth in the car? Tap who said each line. Add what was happening, or skip it. Share a saying and Grandma gets a link in WhatsApp or Messages that opens in her browser, no app needed. There’s more on choosing one in the best app for keeping the funny things your kids say.

Make it a habit

A small routine helps more than a good memory.

• Do it right away. The first five minutes are everything. Thirty seconds once you’ve parked beats a perfect note tomorrow.
• Ask at bedtime. Once the kids are down, ask your partner, “Did they say anything funny today?” Half the time one of you remembers something the other missed.
• Read them back. Once a month, or on their birthday, read the list out loud. Kids love hearing what they used to say, and you’ll be amazed how much you had already forgotten.

What to do with them

Once you have a few, they start to be useful in the nicest ways. Copy the best ones into a quote journal or the baby book (here’s how to choose between a paper quote journal and an app). Put three in a birthday card for Grandpa. Read them at a graduation party one day. A handful of exact words from when they were little is one of the best gifts you’ll ever give them.

FAQ

What’s the best way to remember the funny things my kids say?

Pick one place and use it every time: a pinned note on your phone, a jar on the fridge, or an app made for it like Wamemba me. Write it down within a few minutes, before the exact words fade.

What should I write down when my child says something funny?

Their exact words (don’t fix the grammar), what was happening at the time, and their age in years and months. The moment around the words is often what makes them funny.

Will my child remember the things they said when they were little?

Probably not. Research by Bauer and Larkina found children remembered most events from age three when they were five to seven, but fewer than 40% by eight and nine. That’s why it helps when you write them down.

How do I make a habit of writing down cute things my kids say?

Write it down right away, ask your partner at bedtime if they said anything funny that day, and read the list back once a month or on birthdays.