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A Parent and Teacher Remind Us of the Importance of Teaching Kids Positive Self-Talk

We could all use a little positivity in our lives.

Negative self-talk is just too easy, and we do it all the time–sometimes without even realizing it.

“I’m bad at math” or “I’m not good at… (fill in the blank).”

Whatever it is, our kids are watching and internalizing everything we say and do.

That’s why one mom started sending her kid to school with positive reminders on his pencils, and why his teacher was so verklempt when she found out.

You will change the world

As Upworthy reported, this story was first posted to Facebook from Amanda Cox, an elementary school teacher in Texas.

She wrote:

“Today I was running low on pencils so I asked all of my kids to pull out any of my pencils that they had in their desks.

I had one student ask me if he could keep his pencils that his mom gave him for school.

Of course, I said yes.

He then said, “well, I guess I’ll give you a few so my classmates can have them too.”

Ms. Cox didn’t really think much of the statement until she saw the little boy’s pencils.

You are important

Each one had a handwritten note from his mom, positive affirmations to help him through his school days.

You are so talented

The teacher explained how much these pencils meant to the little boy:

“He wasn’t embarrassed that his mom wrote on his pencils.

Thanks to his mom, he was reminded of his self worth and wanted to share the same feeling with his classmates.”

This will be a great year

And she ended with a plug for everyone who has children in their lives to realize what a difference this kind of action makes:

“Even if you think it is cheesy or you don’t have enough time or that you will have little impact, remember that you may be the only one telling and reminding them these things and EVERY kid needs to know their value.

This is why I teach. ❤️”

You are creative

Ms. Cox’s post quickly went viral.

She was even interviewed by Good Morning America about the story.

She told them:

“He was so proud to use his pencils every day. It made me smile because he would pick the pencil depending on the assignment we were doing.

He would pull out the, ‘You are a math whiz‘ pencil on his math assignments and his ‘You can do this‘ pencil during quizzes or tests.”

You are phenomenal

The story struck a chord with readers and was a good reminder about the power of words, both positive and negative.

Most people probably don’t think about saying positive affirmations to themselves or teaching their children to do the same, but it can be a very helpful tool in developing grit.

Never give up

It’s so important, for teachers and parents, to model and encourage positive self talk.

You can tell it makes a huge difference in their confidence as they grow up.

We all want kids to grow up to be the best version of themselves–so it’s important to remind them that they can be.

You are knowledgeable

Besides just being good for the kids, it’s also good for us.

We could all use the reminder to treat ourselves gently and speak to ourselves kindly.

And besides that, it’s just really adorable to watch them do it.

You are a problem solver

Really adorable. I mean come on:

I am proud of you

For tips on how to share positive affirmations with the children in your life, check out this tweet from Rounded Kids.

I try to remember to give myself positive affirmations, although I’m not always good about keeping the habit.

But this story was a great reminder of how important they can be for everyone.

Do you have a story about how someone’s words made a big difference in your life?

Tell us about it in the comments!

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