Do you write notes to your kids?

My parents are in the process of cleaning out their basement and they've found a way to include their kids in the process. Every few weeks, I find a box in my house.

Sometimes it's a box filled with old clothes I'd worn when I was little and my mom wanted to save them for me for when I had my own kids. (Sound familiar?)

One box was filled with my favorite childhood books, like the Ramonaseries by Beverly Cleary. And the Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry.

Most recently, I found a box filled with my Hello Kitty collection. I was ecstatic; some of these items were now vintage and I could even put them to use. (Yes, I'm wearing my Hello Kitty watch!).

But the best discovery was finding a Hello Kitty wallet that contained notes my dad had written. He'd sometimes leave the notes for me on the kitchen counter before he went off to work in the morning. They were simple: "Be good in school today! Don't talk too much in class! Love you." I didn't find notes every day, but when I did, it was usually at a time when I needed a little extra encouragement to make sure my day started off with a smile.

I'd saved them back then, when I was seven or eight years old, in that wallet. And in that instant of re-reading my dad's notes, pausing to notice his handwriting style and remembering how happy I was on those mornings when I'd find those notes, I realized how important it is for our kids to receive written messages from their parents.

Whether it's a doodle of a heart that you've placed in their lunch box to a note that says "Good luck on your math test" that they find on a kitchen counter before they leave for school, those little reminders let your kids know you're still thinking about them. Sure, a text or email could work. But the power of a handwritten note? It's a different connection, and it will last for longer than you can imagine.

Need inspiration? Some ideas for notes to kids:

  • Favorite quotes

  • Funny knock-knock jokes

  • Doodles

  • A photo with a caption

  • A note of encouragement

  • Start a game of tic-tac-toe

  • A simple "I love you."

  • An affirmation of a something you love about your child

Do you write notes to your kids?