Keep the first scribble

The first scribble has a date and it disappears

Children's drawings pile up fast and go in the bin by sheer volume. The first one, though, is a document: it is the first time she left a mark on the world on purpose. Without a photo and a date, it becomes just another sheet in the stack.

How to keep it properly

• Shoot from above, with the whole sheet in the frame and window light, with no shadow from your hand.
• Write the date and the age in the description, not on the paper, so you do not spoil the drawing.
• If she can already talk, ask what it is and write the answer down word for word. That sentence is worth more than the drawing.
• Photograph her hand holding the crayon too: it gives scale and tells you the stage.

What to offer

Thick wax crayons, the stubby ones a closed fist can hold, and large paper, the bigger the better. Small paper turns into frustration; a roll of parcel paper or the back of a poster does the job.

After the first one

Do not keep them all. Pick one a month, photograph it, and let the rest meet their natural fate. One a month over twelve months is a collection; all of them is a full cupboard nobody opens.