Write Your Child a Note
Try This:
Write your kid a love note.
Making the Connection
Back when my kids were younger, we kept a small, lidded basket better known as the “family mailbox” in the middle of our cluttered kitchen counter. And inside it, I’d often find sticky notes with the words “I love you, Mom,” written with green glitter pen in my daughter’s best nine-year-old cursive.
Our family mailbox was a great way to encourage each other and brighten our kids’ days. Even when my kids grew past the age of wanting notes in their brown-paper lunch bags where their friends could see them, they never minded finding a note or a small treat in the family mailbox.
Since then, I’ve learned that a handwritten and heartfelt note can go a long way to make someone feel loved, cared for, and appreciated. So for this connection, I want you to write your kid a love note and leave it somewhere where she’ll find it.
Make Connecting Fun
Here are a few ideas to get the ink flowing.
- Start a family mailbox. All you need is a basket, a pad of paper, and a pen. You can start the ball rolling by writing notes to each member of your family. You could start with a note of encouragement or maybe a Bible verse. End the note with a question, such as, “If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?” I promise you will get some fascinating mail in your little basket.
- Welcome your kid home with a note. I saw this on Pinterest. Use dry-erase markers to write “Welcome home! I love you!” on a china plate. Then prop up the plate on a plate stand and put it on the counter for your kids to see when they get home from school.
- Send notes in your kid’s lunch. In her book Love Notes in Lunchboxes: And Other Ideas to Color Your Child’s Day, Linda Gilden tells about the day her daughter said: “You know, Mom, I don’t really remember what you said in all those notes you wrote in my lunches. But I remember you wrote them and they always showed you cared. Some days I think all you said was, ‘Have a good day’ or ‘You are special,’ but it meant a lot. Just to know that you took the time to write a note and that you thought it was an important part of my lunch made my day. Most kids only had food in their lunch bags!”Yes, food is an essential part of the lunchbox. But even more important than the food for our children’s bodies is the food for their spirits. And it doesn’t have to be dispensed in a lunchbox. There are plenty of ways to encourage and affirm our children.
- Write out an acrostic using the letters of your child’s name. Hang it on their door or on the fridge so they can see how great you think they are.
J ust so funny
E nergetic
R eady for anything
E veryone loves him
M y favorite person to watch cartoons with
Y ou are a great kid! - Send Scripture notes. Can’t think of what to write? God gave us a whole book of love notes. Just borrow one of His! Then add a few words of your own.
God’s Note: “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always” (1 Chronicles 16:11).
Mom’s or Dad’s note: Always trust God. He knows what’s best for you, and He is bigger than any problem you may have.
- Write a list. Jot down a quick list and leave it on a sticky note on the bathroom mirror where your child can see it when they brush their teeth or get ready for school. Try “Top Three Reasons I Love You” or “Top Five Reasons Our Family Is the Greatest” or “Top Five Reasons You Are My Favorite Lunchbox Kid.”
A Chance to Win:
Tell me what you’re going to write to your child and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a copy of 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids!!! (Entries close at midnight on Friday PST.)
Oh, I love the idea of the acrostic. I’m going to do that and put it in my daughters lunch. I usually just draw a picture on her napkins.
I am going to write out an acrostic using the letters of my child’s name.
I have this photo frame in the kitchen that says ‘”I love you because” and I can write anything after that. I already wrote her name:
C aring
A micable
M y favorite kid to be with anytime
Intellingence with a huge IMAGINATION
L oving and very lovable
Amazing and adventurous
I love the idea of a family mailbox!! Right now I am starting a journal for my girls where we can write back and forth to each other. 🙂
I am sending a lunchtime note tomorrow. My 2nd grader has a spelling test and she has been really struggling with the word T-H-R-O-U-G-H. I am going to write,
Angelina,
I love you through and through. Good luck on your spelling test!
Love,
Mommy
I like the name idea. I may make those together with the kids (3 of them) this weekend with wood and paint (and they have to do each other). But for my note, I am going to put something in their lunchboxes so they can see how special they are, and how proud I am, even when they are away from home.
I am telling my son, “I’m so lucky I get to share life with you!”
My 1st grader is very picky so I have to pack his lunch every single day. I put a note in his lunchbox everyday…usually I tell him I love him, have a good day, etc… He really looks forward to them. As a matter of fact, when I’ve eaten lunch with him at school his classmates make a big deal out of the notes too. They always want to see his notes. 🙂
I love this idea. I am going to write a scripture verse on a card and put in with their homework. Thanks for the great ideas!!
I put a note in each of my kids’ lunch boxes this morning. Even thinking about the notes and what I was going to write helped make the lunch making chore so much more enjoyable! I told the older two that they are loved (by God and me!). For the younger one who is just learning to read I wrote out I love you (she knows each of those words!). It is always surprising to me how much I love signing my name….love, Mommy. Even doing that reminded me how blessed I am and what a gift it is to be called mommy by my three sweeties. Thanks for the reminder and encouragement to do this today!
I started a journal where I write my daughter a letter every year on her birthday. She’s only 2 right now, but I hope to make it a journal where we can write letters to each other as she grows older.
All of your ideas are inspiring me to think outside of the box to connect with my daughter in creative ways. I usually write a quick message on her lunchbag, but next time I am going to do the acrostic thing. Her name is Reina, so I’ll do:
Relaxed spirit
Easy going
Intelligent
Nice to all
Amazing Artist
I love all three of my kids and their different personalities. My oldest and I are rearing cs lewis set of Narnia books. We also share a notebook inhospitable room where we write notes or letters to each other.
my middle son has high functioning autism. I find his love notes need to be connected to a sweet treat and short. I hide them under his pillow. My youngedst thrives on verbal affirmation notes so I write them and then read them outpouring to her. Now I need to do.this for.my.husband.
I love the idea of an acrostic:)
R-Rambunctious
Y-Your Mommy’s Little Boy
L-Loving
A-A Blast
N-Nice
My daughter has taken to drawing hearts and stars on the big mirror in the bathroom after her shower. When she showers this evening, I am going to sneak in and write “You are soooooo special” on the mirror before she get out!
I wrote my daughter a note reminding her that she is beautiful inside and out, and that I am proud of the young lady she is.
I wrote out my kids’ names on a note card and added words to them and will sneak the cards in their rooms for them to find. 😉 They need little love you notes and I needed a reminder to do this. Thanks Kathi!