Baby girl and I started the practice of saying ‘Good morning, I love you’ as our official morning greeting. They are the first words we say to each other every day. Well, most days. She’s a toddler so sometimes there’s whining first thing in the morning. But once we get past that I steer her back to our morning greeting. She actually says, “Good morning, I love you, I love you too” as if she’s speaking for both of us. It’s adorable. We believe in using words of affirmation to build confidence and trust in our children.
I started doing this because our family was simultaneously experiencing a lot of transition. Simone gave birth to baby boy, I started a new job and we were staying in a rental house while our primary home was being renovated.
Our attention was divided more than ever and I wanted baby girl to know that she is loved unconditionally.
We say I love you often throughout the day but I want the first words she hears each day to be words of love. My hope is that this will set the tone for her day ahead. We have now made this the family morning greeting and if I forget, baby girl quickly reminds me with a frown on her face. Be careful about what you start!
These five simple words of affirmation build confidence in our children, provides a sense of comfort and reminds them that they are valued and loved.
It’s important that we build confidence and trust with words of affirmation very early on because I want them to be strong in who they are. I also know that my words as a father have the power to mold their perceptions of themselves, their capabilities, and their overall outlook on life. It’s an honor that I don’t take for granted. I want to do my best to let them know just how valuable they are to me and the world.
What are the first words you say each day? What words of affirmation do you most often say to yourself and to your loved ones?
With Intention,
Sean & Simone
Great writing. I leave for work really early in the morning, so I don’t get a chance to talk to my daughters when they first wake on the weekdays…you’re lucky you can do that. I too believe that as a father we have a special role to play in showing affirmation and confidence in our kids. I really see this in my oldest who’s 6. She really responds to verbal assurances from me. I always make it a point to tell my kids how proud I am of them. While my 3 year old responds more to physical signs of affection and affirmation, for now at least.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Noel! You bring up a great point, various ages and personalities will receive assurance in different ways. So we’ll have to tailor our approach as the kids get older to add on (never taking away those verbal affirmations) in special ways to suite their ages and personalities. I appreciate you sharing your experience with your kids. Fathers gotta stay united and lift each other up. Thanks for dropping by and always appreciate your comments.
You have brought up a very important topic! I have three children, three daughters. Every day I try to tell them how much I love them and how much they mean to me. I know for sure that such an attitude towards children makes them happier, more faithful in themselves and more adapted to life. You are 100% right
Thank you Illia! Three girls! That sounds like a lot of fun. I remember praying our firstborn was a girl (we didn’t find out gender for either child) because my house growing up was filled with boys. I wanted a daddy’s girl and I got one. There’s importance in verbal and physical expressions of love. Both are necessary. Your girls are lucky to have you. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. We appreciate you!
What a wonderful official morning greeting! This is so important espeically in times of transition but as the world advances more and more our children need more affirmation from us. This is rather than them getting used to it on any social media platform. We have two little ones and always say good morning right now we always say we love them at night as the last thing they hear before going to sleep but adding it in the morning is a terrific idea.
A truly great topic thank you for sharing!
Hi Financial Fred. Thank you so much! That is very true about world advancements resulting in the need for more affirmations. They have so much more access to everything. So much more to create unhealthy comparisons. It’s really a tough time for parenting and ensuring that we help to nurture strong, confident, kind, and empathetic kiddos. Sending them to bed with ‘I love you’-s is important too because I’m sure it helps for more peaceful rest for your sweet little ones. We do the same at night also. Thanks for reading and commenting. We appreciate you!
Sean & Simone,
That sounds like a healthy relationship to me! They take effort, constant pruning and care. Autopilot doesn’t work.
Perhaps Jenni and I can take some guidance from you all here and reevaluate our groggy “good morning” and trudge out of bed that usually happens.
Cheers!
Chris, you’re right, great relationships don’t just happen, they are nurtured. Thanks for the chuckle. Had a vision of the “trudge”. haha! Thanks for reading and commenting, we appreciate you! Welcome.
I do not have any kids of my own, but I really enjoyed this read and the interactions that followed. Will be taking notes for the future! 🙂
Thank you,Donas. You can apply this to anyone in your life, not only kids. Even yourself! It’s important that we also pour into ourselves with words of affirmation. But your future kids will be so lucky to have you because you are already thinking of how you will nurture them. Thanks for reading and commenting. We appreciate you!
I think I’m / we’re going to borrow this. We also say good morning. Throughout the day and at bedtime we say I love you but I love the idea of making it the very first thing that our precious sons hear every day!
Traci, please borrow, steal and commandeer! That’s why we are sharing – to inspire and to be inspired. Those I love you-s go a long way, glad you’ll be incorporating into your morning greeting to add to all of the additional affirmations they get throughout the day! Lucky boys you have. Hugs and kisses to them, please. Thank you for reading and commenting. We appreciate you.
Love it, Sean. Thanks for sharing your tips on intentionally spreading the love. Totally agree that positive affirmations said out loud is beneficial for both parties. Start the day with gratitude. You mention that there’s some age-appropriate whining, would love to hear more about your techniques of managing your reactions to that. Also, have any proactive thoughts regarding intentional parenting in the era of quarantines, possible lengthy lockdowns coming with the double-barrel flu season and those of us who will be managing less than ideal winter weather? Thanks and great job!
Thanks, Mark! I’m still learning how to manage my reaction to the age appropriate whining.😉 It’s definitely a test of patience. One method we use which works sometimes is to tell her we can’t understand her whiny voice and that we will have to turn our ears off. Followed up by she should use her normal voice which is so beautiful so that we can hear and understand her. Another method is to ask her if she needs a hug and if it would help her feel better. She usually says yes and it helps calm her. Again, that works sometimes. LOL. If the whine is a result of a decision we made, we try to get her to understand, as best we can, how we came to the decision.
In terms of a lengthy lockdown, our kids have been at home since March for the most part. We try to replicate the same structure they have in school and also ask their teachers for guidance, but it is difficult. We do our best to make everything a game, even the more structured learning activities and that is helpful as well. This generally keeps them stimulated. We also try to spend at least 30-45 minutes outside each day “exploring”. Thanks for reading and commenting, we appreciate you.