I believe one of the best ways to show my children I love them is to treat them differently. For example, no matter how my daughters plead with me, I will never tell them a story about Mike the Monkey.
Mike the Monkey is a fictional character that I created a couple of years ago when my then three-year-old son requested I tell him a story. Neither of us remember why he’s named Mike, or why he’s a monkey. Typically I tell stories where Mike is dealing with similar issues my son is facing. Not every story has a moral lesson, but every story lets us spend special time together.
Though I’ll almost always tell my son a story when he asks, I will never give either him or his older sister two kisses and two hugs each time I leave for a while. Of course, they might not want me doing this now that they’re in school, but the point is, this what I do for my three year old. She loves it. I’m sure it won’t last forever, but for now I love that my daughter wants hugs and kisses no matter where we are!
Fortunately, I’ve also found a special tradition for my first grader. I squeeze her hand three times, one squeeze for each word in “I love you.” She then squeezes my hand four times to say, “I love you too.” I read about another mom who did this and told my daughter about it. Since then, it’s become our thing. (Unfortunately, I have no idea where I read this. If it was you, let me know, and thanks!)
I used to feel a little guilty when I was doing something special for one of my children and not the others. Then, I realized that if I always do the same thing for all of them (and really, that’s impossible), it actually makes things less special. One day I hope they’ll each think they’re my favorite.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: they are all my favorite!
Do you have any special traditions with your kids?