There are days when I can only express how I’m feeling by writing. It’s a way for me to fully be myself and unpack all of that which is whirling around inside of me. It’s a safe way to pour out my entire heart knowing that I can let those words go or come back and ponder on them. It also creates an outlet for me to manage and process those emotions.
I have always loved to write and doodle. I remember wanting a diary with the tiny lock and key set attached. {Didn’t we all secretly keep one?} I want to teach my children that journaling is a safe way to express themselves too. Mommy & Me journaling creates a place to collect our thoughts and capture them on paper. It improves emotional intelligence and awareness, improves handwriting, and strengthens the bond between parent and child.
Words are powerful. As parents, we are to speak those life-giving words into our children’s hearts. It can be so difficult to choose how and what to say at times. Some days you cannot give all of your children the amount of attention that they need. There are times when you may struggle with your words during a moment of conflict or correction between you and your child. {It happens between spouses also!}
Words are powerful. As parents, we are to speak those life-giving words into our children’s hearts.
Peanut is the only child in our home right now that can use this idea, but Ly-Guy is almost there! After reading Kathy Koch’s How Am I Smart, we realized that Peanut is word-smart. {Get her book! You won’t be disappointed.} This explains why she always had such a large vocabulary at a very early age. She expresses herself through ongoing conversations, questions, and role-playing. {If your child is not word-smart, journaling can improve that smart.}
Peanut was in preschool when I first got the idea to purchase an inexpensive journal for us to share. She couldn’t read or write many words at this age, but the idea of having one set a firm foundation on the importance of keeping one. {She also keeps a prayer journal in her bible caddy.}
I came up with our Mommy & Me journal as a way to communicate. I purchased a journal that included that lock and key set and gave it to her as a gift. {It’s something about those tiny keys!} I explained to her what its purpose was and then told her to keep her key and journal in a very special place.
We don’t write in it every day, but when we do we place it under each of our pillows. {Top secret stuff here!} If she was mad about something one day and didn’t want to talk about it, then I encouraged her to write or draw something about it and then sneak it under my pillow. {Kids eat up this sneaky business!} It’s been a great way to bring us closer together and share anything from our sorrows to our doodling stick figures. We exchange prayers, pictures, apologies, pleads for forgiveness, and all of that other mushy, diary stuff.
Ly-Guy will be ready for a diary of his own soon. We are thinking about the idea of both mom and dad having one of their own to share with the kids. We’ve also talked about the idea of starting a new one between husband and wife.
Journaling has helped me resolve problems more effectively with my child, resolve and clarify our feelings, and allows me to understand my child more. Finding different ways to communicate with your family will open up the gates to healthier and happier relationships with them.
The Hen House 