Hi Lovelies,
How long has it been this time? I will always come back anyway, because you make it worth it every time.
It’s so easy to look at the green grass on the other side of the lawn and think it’s better than yours. Have you ever considered the fact that maybe, just maybe you stopped watering yours a long time ago?
Think about it!
A few years ago, when I was just a new mum, I would have given anything to know what I know now. But motherhood, like every other thing, is best learnt from your own personal experience, even before that of others.
I used to have a truckload of stressful challenges in the past, especially the challenges I’ve encountered as a mum. However, these nuggets which I will be sharing with you, have been my saving grace and life changer in this motherhood gamble. The challenges are still there, but I’ve found my way around many.
Here they are:
- Embrace Failure
Yes, you read right. Having a growth mindset helps kids to see failure and mistakes as part of their success story, and not something to be terrified of. Read stories of some famous people or tell your kids about them, for instance, the one that readily comes to mind always for me is that of Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb after thousands of failed attempts. I remember telling this story to my kids one day, and when I asked them what they learnt from the story, I received responses like, ‘He never gave up mum… He is a winner… He got it right because he tried again and again…’
Then, I encouraged them to turn their responses into words of affirmations and add them to their vision boards.
- The A Game
Anyone who knows my kids well enough may have heard them talking about their Saturuday family game nights with so much passion. They look forward to this day a lot because we get to play a variety of age appropriate charades, board and card games together(not computer games because the aim of bonding will be defeated). Now, in addition to these games, I introduced the affirmation game (A game). I laminated different colours of circle shapes, cut out from coloured papers, for this purpose.
The game is played this way;
On one side of the circle, we write our affirmations with erasable markers and on the other side, we write a real scenario when that affirmation was recently put into use at home or school.
For instance:
On one side, write- I am helpful.
On the other side, write – I helped mum to fold the laundry on a particular day.
You could try this with your kids too and tell me how it went.
- Nigerian Idols- Affirmation Song
Encourage your kids to become ‘Nigerian idols’ by turning their favorite affirmations into a song or rap. It makes them have fun while singing, especially for kids with mood swings, and the affirmations kind of stick. A colleague of mine called me one day and said, ‘Chinwe, this trick worked like magic. My daughter’s mood swings are not as frequent anymore.’
Isn’t that a miracle?
Singing is a real spirit lifter.
- Self-Love Mirror
This can be any mirror at all. The difference is in the role it plays. In my household, the self- love mirror refers to a typical mirror in my kids’ room, which I got them to use washable markers to write down their affirmations and reassure themselves anytime they look at that mirror.
Disclaimer- Please use sticky notes instead because my kids have turned their own mirror into a board.
But if you don’t mind dipping a mircofibre cloth in water, mixed with vinegar and dishwashing liquid, to clean your mirror without leaving behind any smudges, then go for it . LOL.
- Be Their Biggest Cheerleader
I mentioned something about having a number of stressful experiences at the beginning of this post. This tip has helped me a lot with letting go. It was shared by a fellow mum to me via whatsapp in response to a poll on my status sometime ago. It reads;
‘Every morning, no matter how late I am or how late they may be, I try to look them in the eyes and affirm them. I use words like, ‘You are a star, You are loved, You are the best version of you, You are important.’
Even though I don’t do these as often as every morning, I don’t skip a word of prayer for them individually. For the words of affirmation, whenever I use them, I also try to acknowledge their strengths without breaking eye contact and end up with a long hug. The oxytocin released from such hugs always help to release stress and anxiety, especially if one of your kids’ love language is physical touch.
Below are a few of the affirmations my kids use;
- I am powerful
- I am confident
- I radiate positive energy
- I am kind
- I get on well with my peers.
- I am a blessing and a success.
- My future is bright
- My dreams will be accomplished because they come from God
- I am beautiful inside and out (Once, a visitor felt she was giving my daughter a compliment. She said to her, ‘You are beautiful.’ Her response was epic, ‘I know, my mum always tells me that.’ I was proud at that moment but I later had to remind her that she may have sounded a bit conceited because she was supposed to say thank you to a compliment.)
I hope your kids find these affirmations useful. Please share this post if you found it useful too.
XOXO,
Yours Truly
Nikimandi
