'the kissing thing'

I met a friend yesterday morning and she told the cutest story about a nightly ritual she performs with her kids. I was so impressed by it that I told her I'm going to steal her idea and do it with my grandkids. Maybe it will inspire you too.

One night when she was kissing them goodnight, she started a litany of positive comments followed by a kiss on the head. "You are smart" kiss, "You are funny" kiss, "You are good at Math" kiss, "I love you" kiss. The cute thing is that the youngest child listens to what she says to the oldest child and then calls her back into his room to ask why she didn't say the same things to him! Isn't that precious?! She didn't realize how much they enjoyed it until she forgot to do it one night and the youngest asked, "will you do that kissing thing?" My friend: "what kissing thing?" The kid: "the one where you tell me I'm funny & good & smart". My friend: light bulb moment and a tradition was born.

I agree with her comment that the kids are surrounded by so much negativity in their day, she just wants the last thing they hear from her at night to be positive and affirming. What a great (and creative) mom!

So, I'm going to start now... even an 11 month old needs positive reinforcement.