A Letter to Your Child, Delivered the Day They're Grown
Children grow faster than anyone can keep up with. Today they're asleep in your arms; blink, and they're walking through the school gate without looking back. Every parent has had the thought: I wish I could keep this exact moment — who they are right now, who I am right now — and hand it to them when they're grown. Photos and videos capture how things looked, but not what's in your heart: the beautiful chaos of the day they were born, the tears when they first said "mama," everything you hope for them and everything you can't bear to let go. Here, you can put all of it in a letter and have it delivered on their eighteenth birthday, their graduation day, or any day you choose. When it arrives, they'll be holding a letter from many years ago, signed by a younger you. Below are letters some parents have chosen to share. What it feels like to love a child — written down, it becomes the longest-lasting gift you can give.
Ideas to get you started
- Describe them exactly as they are today: how tall, the phrase they repeat all day, how they sleep. The details you're sure you'll never forget are the first to go.
- Tell a story only you know: what happened the day they were born, how you chose their name. Stories land better in a letter than in a retelling years later.
- Write your hopes — but as hopes, not demands. Tell them that whoever they become, the love in this letter doesn't change.
- Write about yourself, too: your age, your work, what's worrying you these days. The grown-up version of them will be dying to meet the you of today.
Real letters from the vault
47 public letters又一個十年
寫信的現在我35，明年36系本命年，呢2年都好苦，開心的系何子聰歲半，識得叫人了。姑媽去左加拿大一年幾，前2個星期翻左離，今日生日我地訂左實在靚湯柳宗元房吃飯。10年過去了？！
eason大王
2013.07.20
两年后的这个时候你们前进一大步了吗
现在写下这封信，是想2016年前的计划都顺利完成了吗？的这个时候是不是已经前进了，还是在原地，我的目标很简单，向钱看……狗子哥的一建必过了吗？宝宝快生了没？男孩就叫戈翌狗子哥有没有准备跳往开发商单位了，如果你还在这个单位等我的话那我们准备一起走，你12月份一建必过，监理注册工程
马小小
2014.05.19
减肥奶娃美容三不误
繁忙的妈妈： 2个月过去了，宝宝现在已经吃辅食了吧！有没有学会新的技能，比如自己坐起来之类的。背奶的工作进行的还顺利吧。 重要脐贴减肥有效果了吗?现在变辣妈了吗？你今天的体重是82.3公斤。
zhoutieyi
2014.07.25
断乳篇
背奶妈妈： 宝宝马上要满周岁了！你已经顺利结束你的背奶使命了吗？ 这个过程一定是辛苦的！因为从宝宝生下来开始，你母乳充足，每三小时喂一次奶或者吸一次奶，让你没有办法睡整觉，但是这些都是值得的。你要相信！你做的都是值得的。
zhoutieyi
2014.07.25
致未来的宝贝
致未来的宝贝亲爱的宝贝：不知道这封信寄出的时候，你是否已经回到了我的身边，我的感觉告诉我，你会回来。宝贝，请接受妈妈的道歉，是妈妈的疏忽，在2012年，妈妈失去了你，妈妈自责不已……从那以后的每一天，妈妈都在期盼你能重新回到妈妈身边。在每个思念的夜里，内心的愧疚煎熬着漫漫长夜，辗
虾米
2014.10.27
给未来的宝贝
致未来的宝贝亲爱的宝贝：不知道这封信寄出的时候，你是否已经回到了我的身边，我的感觉告诉我，你会回来。宝贝，请接受妈妈的道歉，是妈妈的疏忽，在2012年，妈妈失去了你，妈妈自责不已……从那以后的每一天，妈妈都在期盼你能重新回到妈妈身边。在每个思念的夜里，内心的愧疚煎熬着漫漫长夜，辗
虾米
2014.10.27
炒股妈妈二
炒股的妈妈： 这次选用一个月，因为大盘形势不好，要抓紧提醒自己。 现在体重还是83公斤，那1个月以后的自己，加入了跑步计划后，现在体重又是多少呢！ 10/13开始做微商了，4/15开始做
zhoutieyi
2015.08.26
写给未来的…
你已经到来，虽然希望是个男孩子，但是如果不能如愿，我也会欢喜，好好陪伴你。
wang501jie
2015.09.30
豆包成长篇。语言
兜兜妈妈： 宝宝已经21个月了！18个月时，兜兜已经可以完全自己行走了，兜兜的助步车最后还是没有买。可是宝宝被宠的不太爱走路，一直要抱。 关于豆包刷牙的问题，坚持的怎么样了，三个月前已经给他准备了自己的牙刷，没有坚持让他自己刷牙
zhoutieyi
2015.10.01
炒股妈妈三
炒股的妈妈： 这次选用一个月，因为大盘形势不好，要抓紧提醒自己。 14年10/13开始做微商了，15年4/15开始做股票，现在大盘指数才3360（8月2900左右），形势真的很不好，如果不好好的把握会出大问题的。经济方面
zhoutieyi
2015.10.27
炒股妈妈四
炒股的妈妈： 这次选用一个月，因为大盘形势还不稳定，要抓紧提醒自己，不能太放手操作。 14年10/13开始做微商了，15年4/15开始做股票，现在大盘指数才3436（10月3360/8月2900左右），形势真的很不好，如果不
zhoutieyi
2015.11.27
炒股妈妈四
炒股的妈妈： 这次选用一个月，因为大盘形势还不稳定，要抓紧提醒自己，不能太放手操作。 14年10/13开始做微商了，15年4/15开始做股票，现在大盘指数才3436（10月3360/8月2900左右），形势真的很不好，如果不好好
zhoutieyi
2016.01.04
Frequently Asked Questions
My child doesn't have an email or phone yet. How does this work?
Send it to your own inbox and hand it over in person on delivery day — or keep the letter's 6-digit claim code and give it to them when they're older; the code alone unlocks the letter.
Will it really still arrive, a decade or more from now?
Yes. On delivery day the system sends an email and a text automatically, with the claim code as a final backstop. Delivery within a year is free; longer terms are a one-time fee from ¥3.9 up to ¥19.9 — no subscriptions, ever.
What age should I send it to?
The eighteenth birthday is the classic — the day they come of age. Some parents write one every birthday and build a whole shelf of growing-up letters.
Can anyone else read what I write?
No. Letters are private by default — only the recipient can open one, via the link or the claim code. Every letter you see on this page was made public by its writer on purpose.
A Letter to Your Child, Delivered the Day They're Grown
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