In most families, parents aren’t the only people with memories (and the stuff of memories - photos, videos, etc.) of their children. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and family friends all have something to contribute. In some sense, kids, like national myths, are subjects of the collective memory of their friends and family.

Leaving aside the sociology of knowledge (needless academic reference), on a more practical level, as we develop TotSpot, it’s become clear to us that a comprehensive story of childhood cannot be told exclusively by parents. This raises several important questions:

1) Should we allow members of the family (and close friends?) to contribute to the child’s story in addition to parents?

2) If we do allow them, how?

3) Even if a child’s story isn’t comprehensive, does it matter? That is to say, is a child’s story not necessarily what actually occurred but instead what a parent chose to share. Are we denying parents some level of control by allowing their family members to contribute? In short, would parents object to grandma adding photos?

4) What are the sociological implications within families? (This is a little beyond our purview, but still)