Realistic Toddler Affirmations

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Do you remember seeing that viral video of a little girl shouting affirmations to herself in the mirror? If you missed it, take 50 seconds to watch because it’s kind of important to this article: 

There are many benefits to using affirmations. Saying positive affirmations daily helps you focus on positive things over negative. Throughout the day, you start to look for confirmation to the affirmations you have been saying, thus having a more positive outlook on life. They help you keep negative things in perspective. They help you focus on your goals. You become more grateful. I have personally felt all of these changes since I started doing positive affirmations for myself.

Toddlers, on the other hand, are a little different…

Now, there’s many things I like about Jessica. She’s enthusiastic, she’s positive, and she’s adorable. However, what she says is not an accurate representation of what many toddlers would say as their daily affirmations. And you know, maybe this video was just her on a good day. Because let me tell you what happened when I tried to do something similar with my toddler. 

I introduced affirmations to my son hoping that it would lead to better behavior. I encouraged him to say things like “I am kind,” “I can do hard things,” and “I love my Mommy.” I helped him think of actions he could do when he said these phrases so he could remember the words. For the first day, it worked great and he had lots of enthusiasm. In retrospect, it was probably because I gave him lots of positive reinforcement for trying this out.

Well, over the next couple days, he decided doing affirmations wasn’t cool anymore. And when he did say his affirmations, he added a negative twist: “I am NOT kind,” “I CAN’T do things,” and “I DON’T love my Mommy.” Needless to say, I quickly stopped asking him to do affirmations.

Since then, I’ve realized the affirmations he said were not truly his. Part of what makes affirmations powerful is they are personally selected. And maybe that’s why Jessica had so much enthusiasm — she had picked her own affirmations. With that in mind, here’s a list of affirmations many toddlers can identify with:

  • I am important.
  • I am curious. 
  • I am fast.
  • I have lots of energy. 
  • I love [insert fast food of choice].
  • I am not afraid to cry.
  • I can do it BY MYSELF.
  • I am sneaky.
  • I love [insert favorite animal].
  • The cold never bothered me anyway. 

There you have it, realistic toddler affirmations! Let your toddler pick a couple of these from this list and pretty soon they’ll be saying them just as enthusiastically as Jessica said hers. 

Have you tried positive affirmations with your toddler? What phrases would you add to the list?

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