Guest Post Written by Roxy of Nurture Cards – Affirmation Cards For Children.
I have a new business NURTURE CARDS – affirmation cards for children. I have created a box of 40 different cards designed with warm colourful drawings, and beautiful affirmations children can relate to. I have developed these cards to allow children to create their own inner self confidence in ourselves as individuals, self love, self belief and POSITIVE self talk- we all know how easy it is to self criticize, and this is why it is so important for children to practice positive self talk, it is much easier to change these mental pathways at a young age.
Not many adults can look themselves in the mirror and say ‘I love myself for all that I am’,and truly believe what they say. Yet it is possible to create this way of thinking as children, and it is something they will carry with them throughout life.
I can recall 1 of my dad’s comments – he said it once and I still remember. I said I would like to learn to dance, he said ‘that would be like a baby elephant on stage’. It was just an off the cuff comment for humor, but I still recall it YEARS later. Imagine how powerful it is to tell your self wonderful things about yourself, and how you will remember them for years to come.
As important as it is for parents and carers to encourage and support children it is more important AND powerful for children to create this for themselves.
When PARENTS encourage, and let children know how special and wonderful they are, this is received as approval, and when children do this also for themselves
They are accepting themselves, and developing love for themselves.
The affirmations do not take very long to enter the subconscious mind. I have a couple of examples from my girls and it’s been fantastic to work with them with these cards.
Jade…..has done this card perhaps 3 times. ‘It’s ok to make mistakes I learn important lessons from them’. One day our kitten came leaping into the bathroom, up on the bath knocking over shampoo bottles, and she said ‘ Jinxy, you need to try and learn from your mistakes”.
My eldest daughter Holly – she say’s before a test ‘ I am smart and I love to learn’ and also said to me, MUMMY, I was a little tired of eating my apple EVERY day, then I remembered ‘I love to eat healthy foods for my growing body’, and happily ate her apple. AND that is how affirmations work, when the situation arises, the affirmation will prevail and the POSITIVE mind will move into action.
So when the children face different issues, the affirmations they have done will AFFIRM positivity..and better yet, CREATE a mind that is more RESISTANT to negativity and criticism.
NURTURE CARDS also incorporate cards that bring attention to THE WORLD around them . ‘ MY eyes are open to the beauty in nature and in people’. This is really important, as often, children do not freely give compassion, or understand that we all have beauty inside us, no matter what size we are or what colour skin we have…that it’s not always on the outside. That if you take the time you can find beauty in people, and in nature. I often try to help the girls with this in car trips. I POINT OUT the leaves changing colour, we count red trees and purple flowers, to keep them aware of the beauty we do have around us.
Everything is absorbed by children, especially ways of thinking. They copy our negative thought patterns, and how we judge and criticize, ‘ look at that lady’s terrible dress’. In the car can be stressful – this lady in front is an idiot!’ It’s all absorbed, and can even be passed on to your children.
We must be careful how we talk about our own body image in front of children, as they are picking up these values for themselves, and if children hear us talking negatively about ourselves, they will copy, and will also develop ideals on how we ‘should’ look. This is especially dangerous for young girls, as there is enough pressure from the media, on how women ‘should’ look. We need to be positive role models, and show our children how to accept and love who they are.
I often hear myself come out with words my parents said to me years ago! ITS amazing..I haven’t heard those words for years! ‘I’ll give you what for”. I didn’t use these words when I was 18 or 25.. YET I have children ..and here are all the phrases my parents said to me. So for CHILDREN to do affirmations of kind, beautiful, thoughtful words, it will change their mental pathways and BENEFIT them for years to come – through teenage years to adults and they will pass it on to their children.
So in regards to DOING the affirmations – The cards ideally should be read out , looking at their eyes in the mirror and saying the cards with confidence and belief.
‘I am important in this world’ x3
NOTE – Children aged 3-6 may not be able to read the cards.
Read them the affirmation then they can say it to themselves into the mirror.
It helps if you can work with them as if they find it hard to say an affirmation with belief, that may be an area that you can work on with them..perhaps write a list of positive qualities they have ie. It is still important for them to say the affirmation even if they can not say it with confidence as it should start to shift the ways of thinking and soon they may be more comfortable with it.
If they DO NOT want you to watch/ hear them, that is fine too. You want them to create a comfortable and safe environment for them to do their affirmations and it is important TO KEEP IT FUN, and not put pressure on them about it.
So a great time to do the NURTURE CARDS is in the morning. We keep them in the bathroom and do them while brushing hair, or after getting ready. One lady told me she has a short drive to school, so they do them in the car and turn around the rear vision mirror. A great idea. Before bed is another nice time, with a chance to talk about the card, or for the children to reflect on the card as they rest.
Just one last, yet very important thought for you on affirmations. I saw a documentary on this one evening on BBC Scotland and theclinical tests they did on how the heart and mind communicate. ‘A healthy mind is a healthy body’. The documentary also stated how at the time of the depression in Scotland there was a huge rise in heart disease, due to the struggles and stresses many had – so much so that they began to teach children in school to be positive. This was in effort to reduce heart disease.
I hope to help many children’s hearts and minds shine.
Click here for more information on Nurture Cards – Affirmation Cards for Children.
