We had a party yesterday for our son's 3rd birthday. One of the other mums sent the following texts to my wife last night...and I'm still a blubbering mess this morning...
"Such a fantastic party! Thank you for inviting us.
And L is such a lovely, caring little man. He’s friendly and confident but not too much. He’s just the perfect balance. You and J have done such a good job xx"
And
"Honestly, if I had to describe the kind of child I’d like R to be friends with it would be a description of L. He’s going to do so well at preschool x"
I know he's a lovely and funny little boy with a big heart but having someone that we don't know particularly well send this has literally made my year!! Just had to tell someone
@harland206 She is, and her 2 little ones. Her son around the same age as ours is quite shy and ours will always try to get him to join in, and give him a hug, it's very sweet to see.
@neenah I always give feedback to parents. One of my cousins' stepson was incredibly patient with my then-shy (not anymore lol) son to get him to play with them. I made sure I told them how kind he was etc. Even if it's just "little" things like how my other cousin's 4 year old asked where the trash can was so she could throw away a piece of paper. I think it's important for parents to know what their kids do when they're not looking -- whether "good" ("he's really kind to others") or "bad" ("yeah he needs to work on sharing with others). Coz a lot of times it's the less desirable behaviour that only reaches the parents.
@neenah Whenever I remember or I’m able, I try to give out compliments to parents that I see that are trying their best out in public with their toddler/kids. It never fails to make someone smile and it often seems to relieve some stress. I just always think about how I’d feel when in that position and how I’d like to be treated. A little ‘you got this, you’re doing great’ can really go a long way.
@tyrell I complimented my son one day and he responded with "that fills my happy bucket dad!" So now we refer to these incidents as filling our happy bucket.
Hearing great things about your children is always soul filling!
@tyrell Positive post Bday party messages from parents are primo. I especially love when we get compliments on how chill the party was, or how awesome it was to set the kids up in a way that the adults could just relax on the periphery.
@tyrell We started VPK last week (it's the best thing for her but I'm terrified of exposures for her brother who, actually, is in hospital rn) and I'm super broken up over it as she has been with me, Dad, nonstop for four years.
The school staff told us on Friday pickup that she's the best adjusted they've ever seen, wears her mask all day, helps the teachers and other students, and they want to know what we did
@tyrell This is a great reminder to communicate with other parents when you see them or their little ones doing a great job. Little words of encouragement are game changers on some of our bad days.
Thank you for this, and it sounds like you guys are doing wonderful! Congratulations!
xx"
