What I’m about to tell you may or may not surprise you…
I am what they call, “A work in progress.” I know, right?! Just another mom who doesn’t have her act together?! Come on lady…
What I’ve come to learn is that none of us do! Yupp, I called you out too. When we strike out, we’re the benchwarmers & you’re sitting right here with us. So, that’s kinda fun. Exploring this new, vast pool of moms within the interweb community. I get to pick up small puzzle pieces as I build my own & at the end of the day, I have all these creative new ideas from other mamas I’ve connected with. Together with my own puzzle pieces, I have one large masterpiece. It’s perfectly, imperfect – Just the way I like it!
I strongly believe that what you put out – you get back in return. I’ve noticed that I’ve attracted or been attracted to other environments or parents who have a peaceful & unauthorative style of parenting. Now don’t go putting labels into my mouth, that’s not what this is about. I just… well, I just love & appreciate when an adult can talk to a little human just as they would anyone else. It takes patience, mindfulness & respect – by both parties. I think that is such a gift to both of us & it’s something I’ve been trying to spend just a tad more brain power working on lately…
“I have watched the beam of light slowly grow inside of him as he talks so proudly about himself!”
One of the ways my toddler & I lift each other up is through affirmations. Since I’ve started saying some simple, relatable affirmations with him, I have watched the beam of light grow inside of him as he talks so proudly about himself & I listen carefully as the tone & energy in his voice changes with his words…
While I can easily think of a list of things I should profess to myself out of love… It took me a little bit to come up with some affirmations for my toddler that would make sense to him at this stage of his personal development (But let us not, underestimate their understanding at any point in life.) I soon realized that I was overcomplicating it so, one day, as we were driving in the car, I started to think of some of the things my toddler is really good at. And, that’s where we began – Our starter list of toddler-friendly affirmations is simply a display of words & actions that I want to reaffirm in him because everyone, even the littlest of beings, deserve to know their WORTH. I started by asking him if he would like to repeat after me, some kind words about himself & he happily followed along!
These choice words, match my son’s personality & build confidence in the things he already is & does well. I would encourage you to choose the words that come naturally & that best fit your individual child. If these inspire you to begin your own journey to using affirmations with your child, please come back to share how & which words you’ve chosen to incorporate – You never know who will come across yours & be inspired, too!
Thank you for sharing this! It’s too easy sometimes to focus on the things that my son does that annoys me. I need to make sure that I lift him up as often as possible!
The struggle is real! By the time I get home, I sometimes feel like I’m only reprimanding/redirecting – I have to be very mindful of also sharing the GOOD which is why this is a very healthy practice for us! Thanks for reading. xo
I love this! I always tell my kids something I love to surprise them like I’ll call them HEYYYY “Isaac” and he’ll answer and I’ll say your are AWESOME! There is nothing like their awesome smile but I will make sure they get into the habit of saying it for themselves even my oldest who is 17!
I love that you do that! There is something so special about it translating into them saying to themselves, to others about themselves or even eventually saying these things to their peers about their peers. When my son goes on a tattling binge, I try to ask him what he likes about his friends & give him kind words he can say to his friends too <3
Thanks for sharing this! So important, but so easy to forget in the daily rush of things. My kids have been pushing my buttons lately, and I feel like I have been speaking rather negatively lately, so this was a good reminder at a perfect time!
Isn’t it lovely when the universe sends the messages we need our way at the exact right times – life has a funny way of doing that. I’m so glad this resonated with you. xoxo
This is great! Love the idea. We forget how much our words mean to our kids.
Actions speak loud but our words are just as important. Thanks for reading!
I needed this. They have been getting to me and I forget that I need to do this for them. Great read!
As much as THEY need this – We forget that we do too. Sometimes after a tough day or couple of hours, I am left feeling so guilty at the end of the day but you know what, parenting is our job. So is, disciplining, redirecting & asking for space when needed so, if we can find a healthy balance, we all benefit & feel better <3
Such a wonderful idea! I’m so excited that my baby girl is starting to understand more complex things like this. Thank you for sharing this!
xo
Suzanne
http://mykindofsweet.com/
They understand far more than we realize! I have to constantly remind myself of that. It’s often us that overcomplicate or make things seem complex… Like when I overthought how to share affirmations with him until I just spoke the words that came naturally. Thanks for reading Suzanne. Xoxo
I have done something similar as I lay my children down for bed but it’s been awhile since I’ve taken the time to do so. Thank you for the reminder.
Awe I’m so thankful I got to bring that happy time back to memory – Enjoy <3
These are SO beautiful, and a fantastic thing to instill in our littles. Thanks for sharing mama!!
Thanks for reading friend! <3
Love this!!! children should absolutely be spoken to with respect – remind me this when my toddler is tantruming lol
We’ll have to use the buddy system! 😉