Visual Affirmation Tools for Kids

Affirmation Board

In my last post I talked about the Trouble with Affirmations.  I talked about the disconnect and confusion that can occur when you instruct a child to say an affirmation phrase while doing an unrelated activity.

For kids, the affirmation needs to be very simple, have personal meaning, and needs to make sense within the framework of the actions they are taking or need to take to reach a goal. They need to be able to relate to method you use and sometimes we need to get creative in the packaging of the things that they need to learn. We need to turn it into something fun.

As far as affirmations, children respond better to simple visual tools and are motivated by active participation rather than passive and rote learning. (For example, a photo album of childhood experiences holds more meaning than just talking about the events, and using multiplication to double or triple a favorite brownie recipe is much more engaging than memorizing the times tables.) When spoken word is added to visuals, it enhances the affirming effect and taps into the creative power of the imagination, such as looking at a photo album and hearing the stories behind the photos does.

Below are a few simple and useful visual tools for kid-friendly affirmations:

Painted Pebbles / Charm Stones

Painted Pebbles: Also called Charm Stones were used in Ancient Scotland and Iceland around 500 AD to heal illness. The stones had symbols and motifs painted on them that represented the healing energies being sent to the afflicted. In modern times, we see this concept in a variety of places, especially on accessories found in garden centers. This is such an easy way to display a word, mantra or message of affirmation to kids. Allow them to select their own rock and write or draw what they want to affirm. It does not have to be fancy, just meaningful to them. A small jewel or sticker can be added to personalize for the child. (I know one non-verbal child who kept a large collection of these painted rocks on a shelf of his bedroom. He would often hold them in his hand and softly hum to himself before he went to sleep.)

Message in A Bottle

Message in a Bottle:   A clean, empty water bottle can be up-cycled into a message in a bottle that holds positive messages, wishes or affirming thoughts for its owner. Add some sand, small shells, stickers and ribbon for personalization and a cork for the opening.   Children can add as many messages as they wish. Too see complete instructions, please go to this link: Surf's Up Photo Album.

Affirmations decorate
Mirrors & Door Frames

Mirrors & Door Frames: My daughter creates a variation of the message in the bottle by placing stickers, cards, bookmarks and trinkets around her mirror and on the frames of the pictures on her walls. She is surrounded by these positive expressions every time she enters her room.

When she was little, we started giving each other fruit stickers-the ones that come off of the produce from the grocery store. I would give her one and tell her it was for love-and she would give me one and tell me it was for hugs and so on. One day, I went to hang up her bathrobe on her door hook and on the back of her door, there were dozens of fruit stickers! She said it made her happy to look at them and know I loved her. Even now, every time we eat fruit from the grocery store, we give each other the sticker and a kiss as an affirmation of love.

Journals: Everyday journals can be used to make collage pages of affirmations, motivational quotes, fortune cookie sayings or photos of real life (or fictitious) heroes and role models.  Scrapbook accessories can enhance this process and make it more personal. The child does not need to know how to write to design one of these. The photos act as a positive affirmation, reminding the child of the qualities they love in their heros. A variation of this concept is to construct the collage on a large piece of poster or foam board. These are commonly called Vision Boards and are used to stay focused on goals and the positive things one desires in life, but can be used for many different purposes, such as affirmations. My daughter's is pictured at the top of this post. She made it when she was going through struggles at school and trying to understand the complex process of growing friendships. Each word or item she placed on the board represents a thing in her life she values. This stays displayed in her room as well, along with her message bottle and painted pebbles and of course her fruit stickers!


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