What a thing to say about getting a note from a parent…

“Notes don’t get any louder.”

Ooph.

I like that notes are persuasive because they are short and to the point. Brief by necessity.

(More notes, less lectures.)

Older children also like receiving notes. A group of teenagers we worked with told us that a note can make you feel good—“ as if you were getting a letter from a friend.” They were touched that their parents cared enough to take the time and trouble to write to them. One young man said that what he appreciated most about notes was that “they didn’t get any louder.” Parents report that they too like using notes. They say it’s a quick, easy way to get through to a child, and one that usually leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

-Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Amazon)

Let’s write more notes to our children.

Blank 3X5 index cards can work.

We will leave them in books and on pillows, in lunch boxes, and in coat pockets.

Let’s write short little sentences.

Little doodles, or perhaps a poem.

Or maybe one silly line.

I think I simply like the idea of fostering of a whimsical creativity in kids.

It’s about noticing, and caring, and encouraging feedback.

Most children love receiving notes—both those who can read and those who can’t. Little ones are usually thrilled to receive a printed message from their parents. It encourages them to write or draw notes back to their parents.

-Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Amazon)