The Importance of Creating Lifelong Memories

In creating the Disney Precious Collections, the goal of FuFoo Fine Jewelry For Girls was to present parents and grandparents with more than just the opportunity to provide a young girl with exquisite fine jewelry crafted with iconic motifs from Disney. They wanted to enable givers to utilize their gift as the basis for creating a lifelong memory.

Parents and grandparents are increasingly looking to instill young girls with core values and the confidence and self-esteem derived from knowing that they are loved and cherished. The foundation for much of this stems from those occasions where lifelong memories are formed - memories that can be called upon again and again as they grow for reaffirmation of their own identity, security and positive reinforcement.

According to Patricia Bauer, author of "Remembering The Times Of Our Lives," memories, especially those that are autobiographical and episodic, that is key moments in life caused by specific events, are how individuals come to define themselves. As a noted cognitive psychologist once said, "We are our memories."

Psychologists believe events that are unique tend to be remembered most frequently, especially if those events are intense in emotion. To underscore this, studies have shown that young children from "enriched environments," such as from secure families, had a greater ability to retain memories than children from environments such as orphanages.

Qi Wang, an assistant professor of human development at Cornell, says that the constructive process of autobiographical remembering is crucial for the development, expression and maintenance of a "dynamic self-concept."

Researchers believe that many early childhood experiences, especially emotionally charged positive ones, may exert a long-term impact on behavior and self-confidence.

The role of gifts in this has been well documented. A study in The Journal of Commerce defined the impact that gift giving has on the relationship between giver and recipient and the long term effect it has on both.