Affirmations are a trendy topic right now, but they do have merit to back them up.
According to U.S. News & World Report, affirmations are positive, encouraging statements anyone can say to him- or herself to reinforce a desired mindset. This can build confidence, independence, and self-esteem, which can then positively affect performance in academics, sports, relationships, careers, and other aspects of life.
Now, more professionals are agreeing that kids truly benefit from using positive affirmations.
Lea Theodore, a psychology professor at Adelphi University in New York, says affirmations deeply affect the development of children, saying, “With respect to academics, a child with a confident and positive mindset can translate that into better academic performance. Children who believe in their abilities are more likely to actively engage in learning, take the initiative, and persist through academic challenges.
She continued, saying, that affirmations “help nurture a strong, positive self-esteem and self-efficacy from an early age. By repeating positive affirmations, children can internalize uplifting messages about themselves, which will increase their belief in their abilities and worth. This builds the foundation of confidence and resilience, which is helpful when facing new challenges and learning experiences.”
Let’s put together a list of tools to help us implement affirmations in the lives of our kids!
Positive Affirmations for Children
Say or write these affirmations with your kids. You may have to offer more help if they are younger and can’t read or remember full sentences. Practice them in a mirror, whisper them in quiet moments, or shout them with energy. Focus on just a few affirmations or change up the message each day. No matter how you do it, these uplifting and encouraging messages will be helpful over time as they sink in.
- I am a special and unique person.
- I can learn new things.
- I am smart, capable, and talented.
- I am loved and wanted.
- I can make the world a better place.
- My body is important and I will do my best to take care of it.
- I will treat others with kindness.
- I can be brave and strong in difficult situations.
- I can do hard things.
- I will treat others the way I want to be treated.
- I will play hard and work hard, and I will also rest when I need it.
- I will not give up, even when something is hard.
- I am cool when I act like my own person.
- It’s cool to be myself.
- I will practice new skills and try again when I make a mistake.
- When I have a bad day, I can hope for a better one tomorrow.
- I am in charge of my feelings and actions.
- I will help my family, teachers, and friends.
- I believe in myself.
- I have people I can talk to if I need help.
- I can make good choices.
- I am good at so many things!
- I will help others who are sad or having a hard time.
- I can learn anything I set my mind to!
- My differences make me cool!
If you’d like to follow along with affirmations in a video, try these:
Hopefully, you can now make positive affirmation a regular part of your routine interactions with your little ones. Remember, it’s important that they learn to believe these messages themselves; that’s where confidence and positive self-esteem are born.
The Whole Family Deserves Good Mental Health
The whole family unit is better when each individual is well cared for. So while the affirmations in this article are aimed for children, this technique can be used by anyone of any age! In fact, we wrote about motherhood affirmations just a few months ago!
Help your kids, spouse, and your family prioritize mental health and you’ll all be so much better off, individually and as a whole.
[…] they are valued, not just for what they do, but for who they are. Kids who grow up hearing these affirmations tend to feel more secure, closer to their parents, and more comfortable expressing […]