Turns out your boring family traditions weren’t so boring after all

Family dinners, car journeys and nights stuck watching whatever your parents wanted on TV have been ranked among the most cherished childhood memories

Eating dinner together. Sitting in the back of the car for hours. Playing the same games. Watching a film with your parents on a Friday night.

But it turns out those seemingly boring moments are the ones we end up remembering.

A study of 2,000 Brits found 85 per cent say their strongest childhood memories came from small, unplanned moments rather than the big occasions you’d expect.

While family holidays were remembered fondly by 43 per cent, almost a third (32 per cent) picked watching films together, 26 per cent said family meals and 16 per cent chose car journeys.

Even playing games – responsible for countless family arguments over the years – made the list at 14 per cent.

And ultimately, it seems what we were doing wasn't particularly important anyway.

More than three-quarters (78 per cent) said it was who they shared an experience with that made it meaningful, rising to 83 per cent among people in their late 20s and early 30s.

The findings inspired Samsung to create Life’s Little Moments, an emotional new film about an expectant father imagining his unborn daughter growing up.

On his way to hospital for her birth, he records a voice note to his own dad before imagining the ordinary moments ahead of him – playing together in the garden, cooking dinner, taking photos before school and, eventually, watching his daughter move into her own home.

One tiny crab-shaped egg timer follows them through the years, going from an insignificant kitchen object to a reminder of their life together.

Which is all a bit devastating when you think about the completely random objects in your own childhood home that could do exactly the same thing.

And apparently we're already going back for the nostalgia hit.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of Brits regularly revisit childhood photos and videos, bringing back feelings of nostalgia, happiness and connection.

Meanwhile, 76 per cent believe taking photos and videos actually makes them appreciate life's simple moments more.

So, yes, apparently those boring Sunday dinners, endless drives and evenings on the sofa really were the good old days.

You just didn't know it yet.

The research was commissioned by Samsung to mark the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.