20 Easy Ways to Show Kids How Much You Love Them
I love my kids so much that I sometimes go without food, drink, sleep or other conveniences so they can have an easier, more comfortable life. It’s certainly not anything dramatic, but there are nights once the littles are in bed that I sit down on the couch and realize I haven’t had a decent meal or moment to myself all day long. It’s a wonderful existence, raising these two little girls of mine, but it can also be an exhausting one. The everyday things we go through and do for our kids as their parents are testaments to just how much we love these little critters, but sometimes kids don’t see a homemade meal and warm bed as love. Just as any relationship needs constant care and nourishment, the relationship with our kids is no different. Kids thrive when they know they are safe and loved, they can reach farther and grow stronger when they know they have the support of their family behind them.
While there are no better words than ‘I love you’ sometimes actions do truly speak louder than words, especially when it comes to our kids and what follows are 20 small actions that speak volumes to how special our kids are to us.
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Date Them
A local restaurant has a happy hour every weekday from 2-4 where all drinks and milkshakes are 1/2 price. For $4, my little lady and I can have the elementary equivalent of chatting over coffee. Both my husband and I make a point to spend one-on-one time with our oldest daughter, especially since the baby came along.
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Meet Them for Lunch
Find out when your child's lunch hour is at school and swap stories over brown bags and PB&J.
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Tell Them Stories About Themselves
I have photo albums filled with baby pictures of my oldest. She loves to look through them with me and hear stories about what she was like as a baby.
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Leave Them Love Notes
My personal favorite place to leave a love note is on her pillow or just under her blanket. I usually leave her one when I head out with my friends for the evening and she'll be asleep before I get home.
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Draw in Their Lunch
Have you ever seen lunchbox daily? This dad draws a new (amazing) cartoon or joke in his kid's lunchbox everyday. He's becoming "the lunchbox guy" around his kid's school.
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Wait for Them at the Door
As soon as I hear the bus round the corner I head to the window with Vivi and wave at Addie until she's at the front door. If Vivi's asleep I'll wait at the door to hug her. I once had a cab driver in Toronto that said having his mom hug him everyday when he got home from school meant more to him than anything else in his entire childhood.
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Put a Funny Picture in Their Pocket
Or in their backpack, wherever you know they'll look. Maybe in a mitten. They can either keep it all to themselves or show it to their friends — before soon, they'll have an entire collection.
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Brag About Them
Tell other grownups on occasion something wonderful your child did when you know they can hear you. Sometimes having them right by you as you talk them up can make them uncomfortable, but having them within earshot lets them know how proud you are of them.
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Make Fun Sandwiches
You could get a fancy sandwich cutter, or you could just use a cookie cutter. Even better? Just use a knife. A heart shaped sandwich can make any day better.
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Have a Secret Love Word
"Gitchee Gitchee Goo means that I love you." Any other Phineas and Ferb fans out there? Come up with a little secret saying or hand movement that says "I love you" to your child without getting all gushy in front of their friends.
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Pick Things Up for Them
The receptionist at my baby's doctor always tries to give my 8-month-old stickers, but I save them and give them to Addie instead. It doesn't have to be much, a little souvenir, a favorite treat, a heart-shaped rock or a beautiful leaf ... something that shows them that even when you weren't together you were thinking of them.
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Keep a Journal with Them
Addie and I started a gratitude journal on January 1st and it's been so wonderful to see the little things she's thankful for, and to be able to write how thankful I am for little things she does so she can read them later.
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Host a Post-it Note Scavenger Hunt
When we were first married, my husband and I worked opposite shifts, so he would leave me Post-it notes on everything I used in the morning to get ready for work. If you have a different schedule than your child, you can do the same thing. Put one on the mirror, one on their toothbrush, one on the front door — wherever you know they'll look in the morning.
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Ignore the Phone for Them
One of the blessings of caller ID is you know who's calling and you can easily call someone back. If I'm hanging out with my daughters and my phone rings, I'll turn it off. When she asks why, I respond "I'm with YOU right now." It always gets her to smile.
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Drop in on a Child's Class
It can be tempting to use that hour your child is at an extracurricular class to run errands, but it may mean the world to them to have you stay and watch them.
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Call Them When You're Away
I travel fairly often for work and make it a point to call Addie at least once or twice during the day. If I can't actually talk to her I'll leave her a message she can listen to whenever she wants. She'll also call me back when she can and leave me messages. Her little voice on the phone is one of the best sounds in the world.
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Draw on Their Mirror
Eyeliner, lip liner, lipstick ... we all have old products we don't use or like. Why not use it to draw a smiley face or heart for your child to admire as they brush their teeth?
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Remember What They Liked
Addie asked back in October if she could have a Hoops and YoYo birthday card from Hallmark for her birthday in December. I remembered later on and her mind was blown.
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Send Them Mail
It's just $0.42 to mail a card while you're out and about to your kid at home. If your kid is anything like any other kid I know, they LOVE getting mail, no matter what it is or where it's from. Bonus points if it's filled with confetti.
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Hug the Daylights Out of Them
Hug your kids so tight they complain. Get down on their level to hug them. Chances are when you are both standing you end up just hugging their head and they end up hugging your butt. Get down on their level and wrap your arms around them as far as they will go — the hug you will get in return will be even more magical.
I think #21 could easily be take photos of you with your kids, no matter how silly, dimly lit or ridiculous.
What’s your favorite way to show your kids how much you love them?
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Read more from Casey on her blog, moosh in indy, or follow along with her on twitter or facebook.
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I love ALL of these ideas!
I thought I was the only person who carried on deep personal conversations with cab drivers. Clearly, I am not
I love these pictures! And of course all your ideas. I’m honored that LunchboxDaily made the list! My mom gets full credit for that one, as she drew one on both my sister and my lunchbags every morning when we were young. Just keeping the tradition alive!
OK, she is just sooooooo cute! I have always refrained from posting “Addie is so cute. Again.”, but this is too much cute to go unacknowledged. And that hair!
We have a little mail box inside the house just for the kids and I put notes, postcards, photos, or little treats in there.
My Mama, who passed away on New Years Day, gave me daily notes starting when I was in preschool and they didnt end until recently when she could no longer write. I have kept ziploc baggies upon baggies of those notes to read again when I miss her. When I have kids I will be passing on the tradition of the daily notes
Beautiful article. I will try all tips/suggestion on my llittle toddler boys!!
absolutely LOVE these! Thanks so much for inspiring some mommy-creativity today!!
Thanks so much for you these ideas! All great ones and this post was very encouraging to me as a mom…to be purposeful with loving my kiddos!
My favorite post you have ever written. Thank you. =)
In my line of work, I come across a lot of blogs and can’t possibly follow them all. I just read your post and was moved nearly to tears! What great SIMPLE ways to show our wee ones how much we love and adore them! I’ll add to the list #22 my new word for 2012…LISTEN It goes along with your cell phone one a bit, but irrespective of the scenario, my girls light up when they realize that I am listening to them fully and intently with my entire being not just giving a nod or the dismissing uh huh….And my heart just melts when I take the time to listen and look right at them when they’re talking and see their emotions radiate as they share their stories of the day. Great pictures, well written – BRAVO!!
~signed, your new follower
Kami left me a heart shaped note in my lunch box once when my mom was out of town. I still have that little note nearly two decades later. I’ll never forget how it made me feel.
I absolutely love this. So many great ideas. But what I love more is how obvious it is that you love your daughter. She is so lucky, I wish everyone had a mom like you are. Thankyou for being a great example of the Mom I would like to be one day.
Such awesome mumness, lovely ideas.
Your post was beautifully and wonderfully written. I appreciate all your ideas and I know my two little girls will be even more happy if I can work these into my daily routine until they become happy habits.
I love the pics of you and your daughter! Y’all have the bluest eyes! I can definitely see the love!
I love all your ideas, they are great! My kids ride the bus and get soo excited when I pick them up or drop them off. They brag about it to everyone! Its the little things!
these are all such cool ideas. Some will work for the husband too
I loved this! I always tell my kids I love them but creativity is so much more memorable! Great ideas:-) I am thinking the hidden notes snd a dry erase marker on the mirror. Best thing we can do for our kid is show them we love thier daddy or vice versa.so great options for showing some love to our husband
Finally an article I learned something from! Great practical, thoughful, inexpensive ideas that anyone can do! Thank you and wow are you two cute! One last idea, I might add for parents of elementary ed kids is show up at school and have lunch with your child (if your school permits this:)) My kids love it especially if I bring them a treat:)
Yes, this inteview (at least what we have seen) is a gift.What I seem to enjoy most is the fact that oghuth Brad and Angelina travel the world, are famous, talented etc., they are basically just a big family doing big family things.I mean this in the kindest way, but they are really quite boring. No arrests, no violence, no court appearances, they just seem like a loving, happy family. They both may have done some harsh things in the past (Angelina at her own admittance probably moreso than Brad), but they both just seem so smitten with each other and normal now. Her description of what makes a good relationship was so lovely and she used similar ways to describe what love is that Brad used last year (with the same author by the way.) Great preview and hope the entire article is just as good and thanks for the good work.
The notes and paying attention are all so sweet and tender moments, but what we want them to take away from our parenting is what we want to count. We aren’t going to always be the mom with the prettiest bows, coolest birthday parties, or even cleanest homes. BUT… We can be the mom’s that listened to our kids, loved on them, and maybe took a moment to jot down for them now or for later something precious that happened that day. I suffer from memory loss. I don’t remember some of my children’s life. I have pictures, videos, and I honestly don’t know what I forgot. Seeing my own hand writing going back and looking has made it easier. The love never fades, it never fails, it grows every day. Being a mom is the greatest gift we could ever have. Showing them how to love, under the strangest circumstances, is our greatest gift to them.
I wish you were MY mom! So cute!