Tell the people you love, “You rock!”
Don’t just tell your kids they “rock”…tell them why!
A little “blast from the past”….but a good message to remember….reposting this!
I was getting ready to mail a card to my college aged kids the other day. I try to send a “snail mail” card every couple of weeks. I have a lot of contact with my college kids by texting and cell phones, but there is something about that written piece of mail in a mailbox that I think kids still love. The cards I send usually are “miss you” or “hang in there” or just “love you” with a little bit of news and maybe a few dollars just because. As I was writing a quick note on one of the cards I had purchased, I read it again. It was simply “you rock”. Nice thought…because my kids do rock…but the more I thought about it, I realized that I often tell them how proud I am, or that I love them, or that they are great but I don’t often tell them what specifically makes them so wonderful! I then wrote why my daughter “rocked”; the things that were special and unique about her that I loved. I received a text later thanking me for the card and saying it would be one she would “save forever.” (Not even a mention of the money!) 🙂
How often do we give our kids and other special people in our lives compliments, but have no specifics, just words? Studies show us that compliments that specifically tell our children what they are doing is right or what is special about them helps them build high self-esteem. It is nice to hear that you are a good kid, but better to hear why. I thought about myself, it is great when I hear “I love you” but better when someone tells me what about me they love.
So, I challenge all of us this next week to take a moment and write or say why those special people in our lives are so great. What makes you proud of them? Why is your child or spouse so special? What are some of your favorite qualities in your loved ones? Let’s look at all who are special to us this next week and truly tell them why “they rock!”
Take a breath, enjoy the joyful moments of each day, and remember you don’t have to be perfect to be the perfect parent.
Cindy
- Posted in: Becoming a parent ♦ Enjoying parenting ♦ Family traditions ♦ Growth and Development ♦ Parent/child communication
- Tagged: "you rock", character, compliments, family bonding, family memories, feel good, growth and development milestones, infant, love, preschooler, school age, self confidence, self esteem, teen years, toddler
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