At the beginning of the year I take time off just to be a Mom. To do all those crafty things I always crave but never have the time. So Wednesday while the boys were in school I spent the morning at the fabric store to “get my craft on.” I’ve always loved the Pottery Barn Kids Valentine bags that go on the back of your children’s chairs. But they are 1) really expensive and 2) always a little girly for my two boys. So I wanted to make one for us that matched their ruff and tumble little boy personalities. For their bag I used dark brown burlap for the bag, belt ribbon for the handles and boot shoe strings for the heart and letters. I also don’t know how to sew so I used about a bottle of fabric glue. All in all it cost me about 1-hour and $10. Not too shabby.
But the bag is not the important piece here. It is just a vehicle. With all the videos on youtube and facebook from young children and teens being bullies, many being boys, what as a parent can I do to help them know they are loved. To give them as much of a firm foundation as I can to have them stand strong and believe in themselves when others tear them down. And I know I have to start now. At 4-years old the mean-spirited comments are already happening. I tell my boys how much I love them and how wonderful they are….but do they need more? And I saw how much they loved the Elf on the Shelf for Christmas…waking up every morning for something new. So I have called Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, Teachers and some of the boys’ friends and asked them to write them a letter and say why they love Ridge and Colton. How they are special to them. And each morning in February until Valentine’s Day we will pull one letter out of the bag in the morning and read it. Words of affirmation to build them up for a world that builds them down.
So share this story…pin it, forward it and post it on Facebook because I would love for this to be a tradition for all children, not for the bag but for the gift of positive encouragement for your child(ren). Bullying takes two…the child so hurt that they bully others and the child pushed down. What if we can make a difference now in our young children’s lives to stop bullying before it begins?
“If we triumph in the little things of our common hours, we are sure to triumph in our lives.” – Unkown
