006 :: WORDS OF AFFIRMATION - PART 2: THE GIRLS' AFFIRMATIONS
before you get started... Check out Part 1: My Affirmations
I could not fully believe it was happening….I chuckled when I saw the shirts online that said, “Be nice to everyone! You never know who lost a fight to a 3 year old today.” Now, it was happening to me…I laid in bed one night just HEARTBROKEN that Ruthie was acting so meanly to Nathan and I, and even at ages 5 & 3, there was fighting….alllll the time! Where did they get this from? Why do they treat each other like this? What on earth can I do to change this?!
I had just started affirmations the week before for myself. I created them to give me structure in the morning, to encourage me as I was still new to our business, and to verbally speak goals that I had set for myself. It gave me confidence to change unknowns of the days & look at them as opportunities. Then…I saw this viral video…
It started to click…I was NOT willing to accept that this was just a stage of life. BOTH my girls need to understand standards that we, as believers in Jesus, live by & ALSO they needed to hear DAILY that they were LOVED & VALUED. The last BIG point I wanted them to understand was that THEY determined the outcome of their day. No one else could decide that for them.
So we started…One morning on the way to school, I just asked the girls to repeat after me…
I am GREAT
I am POWERFUL
I am BEAUTIFUL
No one is better than me, & I’m not better than anyone else.
Jesus loves me, & I love Him.
It’s my job to show God’s love.
Mommy & Daddy love me like CRAZY!
Let’s make it a great day!
Then I said my affirmations….and then I prayed. They had no idea what I was doing at first (partially because my eyes were open), but after about a week of doing it EVERY ride to school, the girls had it memorized & our 7 minute drive to was filled with positivity & talking to Jesus.
They were excited when I asked if I could record the video…
... Ugh... they make me so happy...
Can I tell you how FREE-ING these affirmations have been?!? Ruthie may come home & say, “Mom, *** said that I was (something negative).”
My response usually is, “Rue, say your affirmations…is (said negative adjective) one of those things?”
“No…” *whimper*
“Well, then it’s not the truth & not who God said you were so don’t believe what *** said.”
OR
When girls are in a knock-down-drag-out upstairs, I can calmly ask the girls to say their affirmations, & things usually cool down. (Other times they don’t, which is REAL LIFE & someone get’s time out or a TABLET TIME Veto)
So, how do you go about making affirmations for your kids?
Start with positive qualities your kiddo has.
Then, add qualities that you’d like them to grow. (bravery, confidence, compassion)
It’s ok to use big kid words here…if you have to explain to your child what that word means, that’s something new they’ve learned.
Give your kiddo a purpose. This seems kind of deep, but why did God put your child on this earth? State that! (This is important for you to remember, too! God created them for something WAY bigger than you can imagine & MANY times this hurts our human hearts.)
Do your kids want to add anything?
After you’ve written them out, read them to your kids & see what they’d like to add. It’s their affirmations, remember.
THEN GO WITH IT! They will be weirded out at first, but soon they’ll get used to the fact that school car rides/breakfast time/bedtime/whenever you pick is affirmation time.
More often than not, the girls remind ME to do our affirmations in the morning. I dig it. I, personally, need to work harder on filtering my words & my tone with my girls, but I feel a little bit of grace every morning when I hear them say, “Mommy & Daddy love me like CRAZY!” I believe they know.
Don’t forget! Affirmations are so important to you, too! Hear me out in Part 1: My Affirmations & create your own as well. WORDS HAVE POWER! Use that for GOOD, both in your life & your FAMILY!
...stepping off soapbox to clean up a box of fruit loops.
