Journaling with your kids
I have the sweetest journal that I will cherish forever that is between my daughter and I. We started when she had just really begun writing sentences and continued for a few years.
Nightly, after all our bedtime routine was complete and I had tucked her in, she would write a sentence or two to me and put it on my pillow. It was so sweet to come up to bed and find these cute lines from her. 🥺
“What are we doing this weekend? I love you so much.”
“I loved playing in the snow today. What book will we read next?”
It wasn’t long. BUT it was what was on her mind. Then I’d answer and set it next to her bed to find in the morning when she woke up. I always asked a few questions to give her prompts to work from. These are seriously the sweetest. 💗
After a few years of this she moved on to her own journaling. She never really liked the journal prompts but she did like organizing her thoughts with a journal nightly and I moved on to gratitude journaling every night and a morning 10 minute write - which I love. (Wish we’d kept up the journaling together, but not sure she’d be into that now at 16. 😆)
Why is journaling so important and how can it help your kiddo? Maybe the better question - is journaling something you might consider doing with your child?
For kids:
Emotional connection - kids can learn to express their feelings within the safety of the pages of a journal - finding comfort in getting them out and satisfaction of releasing those emotions. BONUS - it can help develop emotional intelligence. 👊
Writing practice - journaling is such a good opportunity to practice writing. Play with handwriting. Maybe you even teach them a little cursive. (Don’t let cursive be a lost art.) If you are journaling together - like my daughter and I - don’t critique spelling or grammar. This is not the place - this is free writing. Let it be. ✨
Book of memories - one of the best things about looking back at the journal entries between my daughter and I are memories that we captured. A trip to the coast aquarium and the starfish she got to touch, or sledding in the snow on the neighbors driveway and hot chocolate after. It’s fun to reminisce about the moments that stood out to our little ones. ❤️
Problem solving - writing a problem down, seeing it on paper, and working through a solution is great practice. Once a journaling practice is established if you child it working through a problem you can encourage them to write about it. 🙌
Goal setting - keeping notes about goals and progress toward those goals are a great addition to a journal. Another fun record to look back on but fantastic practice for your child as a way to remember and work toward more long term goals. 💪
How do you get started?
✨You can just jump in like I did with my daughter. We purchased a small spiral notebook that she liked (pink with butterflies if I recall) and we just started.
✨The questions we wrote for each other gave us a prompt that made it super easy to know what to write about. It also gave my daughter practice coming up with questions for another person.
✨If your child is journaling on their own there are all sorts of journals with prompts in them. There are ones with fun questions for their minds to ponder, journals with daily goals and schedules to keep them organized or maybe they prefer a blank page and the open possibilities of writing whatever comes to mind. Drawing in a journal is ok too. Sometimes thoughts come to us in images rather than words.
✨When your child is pre-writing - you can begin this back and forth journal with them. They can draw and you label the drawing for them. You can write simple questions which you’ll read to them and they can answer with their own version of writing. Just ask for an interpretation.
✨Journaling can be very private so as they get older give them the space to keep these thoughts private, even from you. If they are afraid you or a sibling will read their innermost thoughts they won’t share them.
Journaling is a great practice and such an easy practice to start when they are young. BUT start it at any age. Let your child see you write in a journal, write down goals with checkboxes, write down future plans and dreams. Showing your child how journaling helps you sort out your thoughts and goals is pretty powerful.
You got this!!! 🫶
PS Here are a few journal options if your kiddo prefers some prompts.
This one is a daily question journal
This blog has great journaling prompts if your child prefers a blank page journal but needs direction of what to write about.
