Kids grow up incredibly fast, and parents often get so engrossed in their daily routines that they neglect to consider their child’s future. By writing down your experiences, hopes, and lessons for your future adult child, you can provide them with a clearer understanding of your experiences at various ages, and what they can expect in the years to come. Although your child is young now, what do you want to impart to them as they grow into adults?
Past Experiences
Share your past experiences with your child. Explain your life as a teenager and young adult. Since your child didn’t know you at that age, it’s great to give them an insight into who you were before starting a family. Write about your living situation, your memories, and your fears. You can also include your experiences with your child. Tell them if they slept through the night as a baby or what their first birthday was like.
Advice
Reflect on your teenage or young-adult experiences and share advice on how you overcame challenges. Guide your child through the ups and downs of growing up and preparing for the next stage of life.
Wishes/Hopes
Consider the aspirations and dreams you harbor for your child’s future as an adult. Do you envision them being passionate about their studies? Do you hope they’ll cultivate meaningful friendships? Take a moment to envision your child’s adult self and jot down the hopes and desires you have for them.
Lessons
Provide your child with valuable lessons that will help them succeed in the years to come. Depending on their age when they read your letter, they might be preparing for college or starting their first job. Were you taught to prioritize school or never give up? Reflect on the lessons that helped you excel and share them with your child.
Highlights
Talk about the things you hold dear. Share a recent memory or significant milestone that has just happened. Writing about the present day might jog your child’s memory of a memory they might not recall as an adult. It’s also a great way to preserve stories you want your child to hear in the future.
Promises
Shift your focus from solely considering your child’s future to including yourself in the letter. Share your promises for the future with your child., and let your child know that you’ll always be there for them.
Writing a letter can be more effective than lecturing or trying to teach children some life-lessons. Take this opportunity to dedicate a letter from your current self to your future adult child so that your child may not only hear stories and advice they’ve never heard before but will also cherish this letter as a keepsake to look back on.
Next, Encourage Your Child to Write a Letter to Their Own Future Self
After writing your letter, ask your child to write their own letter to their future adult self.
Writing a letter to their adult self is a meaningful way for a child to reflect on their aspirations and dreams, while also creating a powerful memento for the future. Parents can use the past, present, and future as a guide to help encourage this letter-writing activity.
Reflect Upon the Past: As you did with your own letter, start your child off by encouraging them to reflect on their past experiences and express their thoughts and feelings about them. They can write about both their successes and challenges, as well as any significant changes or transitions they’ve undergone, such as the arrival of a new family member, a move to a new school, or the development of a new hobby. By writing about these experiences, your child can gain valuable perspective and insights when they eventually open their letter.
Think About the Present: Have your child write about things that will serve as markers or placeholders in time. Encourage them to reflect on what currently occupies their life. They should consider that issues that seem significant now might seem much smaller in the future, while things that may seem insignificant to them now could gain greater meaning in the years to come.
Imagine the Future: This part will require the most imagination and will often need some assistance from parents. By asking your child to think about what their future will be like ten or fifteen years from now will prompt them to consider how they will achieve their goals. While it’s not necessary for them to be super-specific … like planning their career trajectory … there is a great deal of value in speaking and writing things into existence, and there is empowerment in envisioning what the future holds.
The letters you and your child write can help your children realize that, while the future may be uncertain, their dreams and aspirations will guide them throughout their lives. Years from now, reading these letters will allow your child to reflect on their journey, the achievements they’ve made, and the unwavering support of their family who believed in them throughout their lives.
