Image credit: D Sharon Pruitt

Talk about the good things that happened that day. What are the things that made him smile? What moments made him happy? List them down — getting an A on his History quiz, sharing a funny joke with a friend. Draw pictures — let him draw the cute dog he saw by the bus stop, let him recreate the orange leaves that delighted him as he walked home from school. Attach little mementos, like a ticket from a movie he enjoyed or the wrapper of a candy his school crush shared with him. Record that day’s happy thoughts.

This daily reflection can help your child look at the positive side of things. Not all days are terrible, as there will always be something to be thankful for in his every day.

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A Daily Gratitude Journal

All the chaos can easily send you screaming out of the house, or worse, screaming at the people in the house. What would you do if this happens to you?

Image credit: areyoumyrik

You could choose to find the humor in the mess there is. I know, it’s easier said than done. But think about it — if you blow your top and raise your voice, it creates a chain reaction. The people around you go into grouchy mode too. Before you know it, everyone at home is grouchy. Not only is the home chaotic, it’s also a ball of negativity.

So maybe you could try laughing. You could choose to be joyful. It’s the more difficult path to take, but the more rewarding one. Have a laugh at Peanut Butter baby — take a picture of it. It’ll make for a good story to tell when he grows older. Ask your older kids to help clean up the trash. Choose to order a pizza instead of slaving over the stove just to please the family. Actively look for ways to maintain your cool and stay positive. Your positivity will cause a joyful chain reaction too.

Grouchiness is just as contagious as happiness. Which one will you go for?

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Don’t forget to laugh!

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I thought that it might be nice to focus on ideas that inspire parents to spread a little more love and positivity around the home. Being a disciplinarian doesn’t mean you have to be mean. In fact, acting kindly on a regular basis, makes it easier to enforce discipline and create a greater respect for parental authority. My Peer Leadership teacher once gave a lecture on the importance of feeding each other with positivity. He made the point that all people walk around with an emotional collection bin. Every action or comment that is made toward them, during the day, goes into the bin. As the day wears on, the bin gets full and overflows. Everything that was put into the emotion bin spills out into the atmosphere. If the bin was filled with mostly negativity, then that negativity will spill out and effect others. But if we fill each other’s bins with positivity and love, then our bins will overflow with good things and create a positive chain reaction.

I have never forgotten his words and I find that positivity starts in the home. When I spend the day barking at my children and spewing negative commentary, it causes my kids to become negative Nellies, in turn. I have realized that I can greatly affect the mood of this house and all who dwell within, just by speaking and acting in love. Here are a few ideas that may help to create a more positive home environment and take very little time and effort.

1. Cut out paper hearts and laminate them. Once a day, use a dry erase marker to write a little word of appreciation or positive observation to each child. Pass out the hearts at the dinner table or any time that you are all gathered together. Make sure that they read them aloud, so that the positivity gets verbalized.
2. Write a love note and stick it in your child’s backpack, lunchbox or pocket.
3. Sit with them at bedtime and tell the story of the day that they were born. Make sure you include your feelings of joy and excitement, so that they know how special their birth was.
4. Make up a song about each child. It can be sung to a familiar tune. Be sure to sing their praises whenever they look glum.
5. Sit in a circle and have each family member say something nice about everyone in the circle. My kids were surprised to learn of the nice things that their siblings thought about them.
6. Make a collage out of magazine pictures that depicts the great things about each child. Hang it on their wall, above their beds, as a constant reminder of why you love them so much.
7. Go through old pictures and talk about the memories of when they were young. Include lots of reasons why you love each memory. It will flatter them that you actually remember things that happened so long ago!
8. Hang a picture of each family member on a poster board. Write positive adjectives on sticky labels and hand them out to each family member. Let them take turns at applying each label to the member that they feel best fits the label’s  description. Display the board for all to see.

What are some ideas that your family uses to spread a little love around?

Post from: Blisstree

Spread The Love