64 Positive Things to Say – Words of Encouragement for Kids
Words of encouragement can be a powerful tool to empowering kids, filling them with positive messaging. Just a few words can make all the difference in a child’s day, and can even help them to overcome challenges, building resilience. When kids feel discouraged, words of encouragement can give them the boost they need to keep going. And when they’re facing tough obstacles, words of encouragement can help them to remember their inner strength and power.
Every child is unique and special, and words of encouragement can help them to see their own potential. By sharing positive messages, we can help them to build confidence, feel loved, and give them the opportunity to tap into their fullest potential.
The Power of Encouraging Kids Daily
Every day, young people face a barrage of challenges. They may be struggling with schoolwork, feeling left out by their peers, or coping with difficult family situations. In the midst of all these challenges, it’s easy for kids to lose sight of their own worth and potential.
That’s why it’s so important for adults to take the time to encourage kids on a daily basis. Just a few words of encouragement can give a child the boost they need to keep going. It can remind them that they are valued and capable, no matter what they’re facing.
In a world that is often harsh and unforgiving, encouraging kids is one of the most powerful things we can do. It lets them know that they are not alone and that someone cares about them. Just a few words can make all the difference in a child’s life.
What phrases do you say each day to encourage your kids? Which ones do you want them to remember?
In the years since my grandmother has been gone, I am still inspired to notice the good things in life when I remember the way she would pause at those good moments and say, “This, now, this is good.” To this day I can hear my mother encouraging me when I try new things. Her voice of confidence from my childhood continues to give me confidence now.
And eighteen years after my dad died, I can still hear him, when I get too serious saying, “Lighten up, Lissy!” In moments of complete self-doubt and embarrassment, I still bolster myself by thinking of him singing, “Oops, you made a mistake, and you’re beautiful to me.”
All of these words of encouragement from my parents and grandparents have stayed with me.
What do you say that will stay with your kids for the rest of their lives?
Certainly, words can become meaningless when they aren’t followed with action, but nonetheless, words have great power. You can choose to add more positive ones to your days.
Coming up with a few encouraging words for kids or positive phrases to say tips the scales towards the kindness you want your kids to imitate.
You never know the words of encouragement from you that your kids will carry with them for years.
I am happy to offer a poster version of this list here.
64 Words of Encouragement for Kids
May this list inspire you to turn to your child and say something like:
- You are loved
- You make me smile
- I think about you when we’re apart
- My world is better with you in it
- I will do my best to keep you safe
- Sometimes I will say no
- I have faith in you
- I know you can handle it
- You are creative
- Trust your instincts
- Your ideas are worthwhile
- You are capable
- You are deserving
- You are strong
- You can say no
- Your choices matter
- You make a difference
- Your words are powerful
- Your actions are powerful
- Your emotions may be powerful
- And you can still choose your actions
- You are more than your emotions
- You are a good friend
- You are kind
- You don’t have to like what someone is saying in order to treat them with respect
- Someone else’s poor behavior is not an excuse for your own
- You are imperfect
- So am I
- You can change your mind
- You can learn from your mistakes
- You can ask for help
- You are learning
- You are growing
- Growing is hard work
- I believe you
- I believe in you
- You are valuable
- You are interesting
- You are beautiful
- When you make a mistake, you are still beautiful
- Your body is your own
- You have say over your body
- You are important
- Your ideas matter
- You are able to do work that matters
- I see you working and learning every day
- You make a difference in my life
- I am curious what you think
- How did you do that?
- Your ideas are interesting
- You’ve made me think of things in a completely new way
- I’m excited to see what you do
- Thanks for helping me
- Thank you for contributing to our family
- I enjoy your company
- It’s fun to do things with you
- I’m glad you’re here
- I’m happy to talk with you
- I’m ready to listen
- I’m listening
- I’m proud of you
- I’m grateful you’re in my life
- You make me smile
- I love you
Encouraging Children with Words
Research has show that the kind of praise we give to our children can ultimately influence them and motivate them later in life. Therefore, when we utter these words of encouragement to our children, we want to focus on the effort rather than their talent.
Recognize their effort.
The best thing you can do is show them encouragement when they try their best. It doesn’t matter if their abilities are top-notch or above others; they are looking for encouragement at that moment as they put their effort into the task at hand.
Choosing specific phrases to use can also help encourage them.
Don’t generalize your words of encouragement too much. Be specific to what they are working to accomplish. If they are painting a picture, for example, focus on the different colors they have chosen rather than just saying good job.
Be sincere.
The praise you offer your children should also be sincere and honest. If the praise you are offering doesn’t feel sincere, then they will likely not feel encouraged at all. The praise is ultimately discounted and can lead to a child to practice self-criticism.
Avoid controlling or conditional praise
When you use praise and encouragement to control your child, they think your approval and positivity depends solely on performance and great results. We will always make mistakes and have stumbles as part of learning and growth. If a child believes they’ll be rejected if they make mistakes it leads to low self worth, perfectionist tendencies and a life-long feeling of ‘never enough’.
Avoid comparison.
You also want to avoid comparison praise because instead of motivating them to work harder, it can end up backfiring. When comparing your child to others and praising them by comparison, they become vulnerable to setbacks they may experience in the future. They learn to compare themselves to others and when they fail, instead of looking towards their own strengths and how to build on those, they look at how they’re ‘worse’ than someone else. This makes it easier to become frustrated and feel helpless while losing their motivation.
The Benefits of Encouragement
When we encourage our children with our positive words and affirmations, we are boosting their self-esteem, helping them learn to believe in themselves, assisting in developing their imagination and creativity, and also motivating them to continue to keep trying and keep learning.
Sometimes the positive phrases might sound hokey, or when you say them over and over, you might wonder if they’re losing power, but here’s how I think about that: I hope that repetition means that some of them stick.
Years from now, when my children face a difficult job interview, a challenging conversation with their spouse or a day that seems like all of the ends are unraveling, my hope is that they’ll remember hearing me encouraging them, and their internal voice will say, “I have faith in you. I’m sure you can handle it. You are loved.”
You can get a poster version of this list here.
You may also like:
- Being More Present – 100 Ways to be Kind to your Child
- Increasing Resilience – The One Question to Ask Before Helping Your Kids
- Connecting with Kids – Best Family Board Games
- Believing You Are Enough – Banishing the Should Mama
References:
- De Montfort University Leicester (2019, October 11). Research shows praising children five times a day has a positive impact. Retrieved from https://www.dmu.ac.uk.
- National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2018). Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation Working Paper No. 14. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
64 Positive Things to Say to Kids
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We hope you enjoy the week on your retreat !!! We are praying that you are truly blessed!!!
Love & Prayers,
Teresa & Jerry
“NO” should be on that list. That’s why we have so many brats. Too many Parents are afraid to use that word.
You appear to have glossed over No.6?
“Sometimes I will say no” is not “no”. It’s crap like this is why we have so many monsters on our hands. Be tougher on kids, not softer.
Oh for goodness sake. It’s a blog post. It’s meant to be read – so when I was writing it I wanted to put “no” on the list as obviously it’s critical that parents say no. However, in the flow of reading the list it would have sounded really odd to just have the word no. And either way, referring to kids as brats and monsters does no good in understanding their behavior, nor your place in it.
This person is a troll. Your justifications are not necessary, dear one. This person heard nothing but “no” as a child and has chosen to remain in that pain. I also heard nothing but “no” because I was not loved by my mother. “No” was about the least damaging thing my mother said to me. I was lucky and smart and decided to love and parent myself, so much as I could. I chose not to have children because I was abused and understood that I needed to nurture myself. I’m here because I’m still doing that. Beautiful post!
You sound really angry.
My son and I tell eachother how much we like eachother. For him, it means something.
Thanks!
totally sharing. This is another great print-and-hang, thanks!
Amy Hoeft Shannon were you the one that recently posted about finding more ways to tell your kids “good job”? This made me think of that post I saw.
beautiful
I want to print this up!
@Sam So do I, and I agree that this is where it begins … with the messages from parents and teachers. So important to get these messages in play as early as possible, and keep them in play long after we think they’ve heard enough.
Just 63, #2 & #63 are the same 😉
Alice Andress Grayson
Super awesome sharing.. Very helpful to work on
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I work with women to remove the negative scripts in their head and replace with positive words such as these. It is never too late to start using them on ourselves, for whilst we are not responsible for the programming we have as children we are definitely in control of the words we choose to use on ourselves and with our children as adults and have the power to change a negative cycle. Thanks for a lovely post. I hope parents are inspired to use the words, because they will 100% make a difference to their children’s lives.
I work with women to remove the negative scripts in their head and replace with positive words such as these. It is never too late to start using them on ourselves, for whilst we are not responsible for the programming we have as children we are definitely in control of the words we choose to use on ourselves and with our children as adults and have the power to change a negative cycle. Thanks for a lovely post. I hope parents are inspired to use the words, because they will 100% make a difference to their children’s lives.
My daughter is 12, my son is 3. To this day i have planted kindness into my children by always being polite and always say please, thank you, excusse me and im sorry. People are amazed when my children respond in such manner and i always hear “uou dont see or hear children say such things. What wonderful children you have, your doing a good job mom.” See i grew up in the south and maners are a big deal, and it can make all of a difference.
I try my hardest to make sure my children know the meaning of kindness and like my grandfather always said “Just holding the door open, saying please and thank you and saying im sorry can make a persons day.” Throughout the years i have added to my grandfathers words to me while growing up, just a simple hug and the words i love you and your the best can make someones bad day into a good day. I may not be the best with words but my actions speak through my children.
For my new year resolution i am going to post these powerful phrases on my wall and make it a point to say these to my children everyday. Who knows maybe it will also change my outlook and make ne more posative as well. We all could use pisative words in our everyday life.
Thank you for your post, it has truly made me realize that i should say things like that more often. Thank you so much.
I normally say, “What a beautiful day!” My daughter has repeated this since.
Quite a few adults need to hear that one as well. Is your name really Lothlorien?
It is so true that we carry our parents’ words the rest of our lives. I was unfortunately told things like “you were always a little bit fat”, “your foot was retarded,you walked funny growing up”, “crying won’t help”, etc etc. I still struffle every day with self worth issues,despite being actually quite pretty I suppose. Love your kids folks. Mt mom is a narcissist.
“thanks, helper!” or “what a tidy guy!” or “tell me!”. My job is to keep you safe and loved. That’s your choice to make. You give good hugs.
Great list 🙂
These are great ideas and I, like you, also run scripts in my head and try to be intentional with building my kiddos up. Thanks for the post!
That’s wonderful. In my day, people didn’t say those good things to their children, at least not in the home I grew up in. I felt all that love for my sons, but am not sure how often I expressed it verbally. Sometimes it could make the difference between a kid giving up or growing up.
I understand your comment so well.
@kerrypenmangaines I am adding that to my list of phrases, such a powerful reminder that all is not lost and that they are loved and valued inspite of their mistakes even when it costs them someones trust. Thank you for sharing that!
Kerry Penman Gaines – ooh, that sounds like a tough one. Great positive phrase to come out of it though.
Here’s ours for the week: you can and will earn back my trust.
I tell them I am so happy I get to be your Mommy. And they both are my favorite kids in the whole universe.
Yes, I liked the way it worked that way with the repetition. We spend a lot of time correcting our kids, and sometimes it’s really worth letting them know they make us happy.
#2 and #63 are the same: “you make me smile”.
#25You don’t have to like what someone is saying in order to treat them with respect
Love this!
I’m so glad God put you in my family… (One of my favorites…..)
Thank you, Lindsay.
This one is for me!
X
Beautiful. Thank you!
Thank you for this 🙂
Love you more
Thank you so much, Lissy! Very proud of you it´ll be your father, anywhere he´s lovefully looking at you, and vice versa.
“Love you more”
You’ll always be the right size for a kiss/cuddle
When my son & our daughter in law were pregnant with their 1st child, (they were living with us) I over heard them talking one day. He was asking her to get something for him, she asked him what the magic word was & he responded “Now” with a grin on his face. It was then that I came up with the standing family “rule” that when you ask someone for something you have to always include “please, thank you and I love you”. The person being asked CAN’T refuse if asked in this manner. They both looked at me like I was crazy but I explained to them if they got into the habit of doing this before the baby was born, then it would be routine and the baby would learn to say the same. It was funny how it caught on to almost everyone in the family & even close friends. Now my grandson is 3 1/2 & when he asks for something and you remind him to say the magic word, he promptly days “please thank you and I love you” . Just wanted to share…..
So sweet and lovely…
Thanks for sharing…. I’m so stealing thos
We high five all the time, it makes them feel so good. At bedtime I whisper during cuddle time, “You are my special” and whrn we’re having a bad day I always reiterate how they are special to me even though we’ve not had a good morning etc. Etc.
Really great encouraging words of wisdom!
I’m proud to be your mom.
&
My life is better because you are in it.
may i translate this and post to my blog? which is in turkish 🙂
Peace, love, happiness. Have a great day!
I love you more than all the fishes in the sea, more than all the birdys in the sky and more than all the stars in the night.
I always say to my little girl, “I love you SOOO much”.
To which she replies, “I love you TOOOO much mummy”.
I love you sooo much, like seriously! **huge hugs**
Aww, I love that Beverley!
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My 5 and 3 year old will always say “but luckily you still love us even when we are naughty”. I made a rhyme “I love you when you’re naughty, I love you when you’re good, I’ll love you when I shouldn’t, I’ll love you when I should”. They always say it
Loving, positive words are important!