I am not an overly expressive person, and so saying “I love you” in *creative* ways has never really come naturally. My husband, on the other hand, is great at it – and I have enjoyed many a time watching him shower his fun “I love you’s” on our two sons.
I wrote this list to help myself *spice up* my “I love you” time with my kids… not because I think this is necessary to be a “good” parent, but because I wanted to experiment with how it would affect our relationship. The boys have thoroughly enjoyed these new interactions and we have had some very special moments as a result… some soft and sweet and others full of giggles and laughter.
My hope is that by increasing the love in our family, we can all have full “love tanks” to go out and offer love in the world. Imagine how wonderful our world could be if we all showed a bit more love…
This article is part of my series “Sharing the Love: 100 Ways for You and Your Kids to Make a Difference In The World.” Follow along here.
So what are my top 10 ways to tell your kids “I love you”?
1) Tickle it.
Give “I love you tickles” starting at the feet up to their face saying “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
2) Whisper it.
Quiet words create a special moment.
3) Sign it.
Pointing to your eye for “I,” to your heart for “love” and to them for “you.”
4) Re-use it.
Choose an “I love you” phrase from a favorite book such as, “I love you right up to the moon and back” from Guess How Much I Love You or “I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be” from Love You Forever.
5) Write it.
Put a love note under their pillow, on their lunch plate, or in the mail box.
6) Ask it.
Say, “Do you know how much I love you?” Whether they say yes or no you can then say, “I love you sooooooo so so so so sooooooooooo so so so so much” accompanied by a ginormous hug.
7) Sing (and dance) it.
Make up any tune using “I love you.” The kids may even enjoy dancing along with you as well.
8) Make a mental picture for it.
Explain the unlimited love in “I love you” by using examples of travel, such as “I love you all the way across town, across the country, across the world, up into space, up past the moon, past all the planets, right around the sun, and into space for as long as long can be. My love for you will never end.”
9) Secret-ize it.
Create a special movement, hand shake, or sound that means “I love you” in a way only your family understands.
10) Savor it.
This one is all about being in the moment while you say it. Maybe during a back massage before going to bed or after enjoying a lovely storytime together. Those quiet moments between mama and child are so sweet. So say “I love you” and savor it, breathe in the moment, and be filled with love.
If you have found one or two new ways of saying “I love you” to try, let me know how it goes in the comments! Do you have any other fun ways to says “I love you”?
Next in the series I will share the top 10 ways to show your kids you love them {without words}.
Follow along the “Sharing the Love” series by joining me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletters where I’ll review the past month’s posts and share some other favorite resources as well.
So So Cute! I’m gonna tickle tell them tonight!
Yay! Hope you all enjoyed it Allison, thanks for the comment 🙂
Wish my Grandchildren were here so i could practice on them today
Aww I’m sure your grandkids wish they were too 🙂
I saw this idea on pinterest that I loved – secret banana messages: if you write on a banana with a toothpick the secret message will appear during the day. So you can either write a love message or draw a heart and put them in your kid’s lunch boxes.
What a cool idea thanks for sharing Maria! Will definitely have to try that one 🙂
We use the sign for I love you.
Using right hand, make an L with your thumb and index finger and raise your pinky as well, your ring and middle finger should be bent down so the tips are pointing toward the back of your hand. The pinky by it self is the letter I, the thumb/index makes an L, the index and pinky make the letter Y. If you wiggle the ring and middle finger up and down that’s like an M and means “I love you much!”
In writing, we use ImL which looks like the sign as viewed from the front. It’s our family’s secret code–I put it in bag lunches to avoid embarrassing my 10 year old boy in front of his friends and in email and texts to hubby,
Aww thanks so much for sharing 🙂
We use the sign for “I Love You” too! It’s like a ‘secret’ code for our family 🙂
This is such a brilliant post. As the mother of a child who doesn’t always like hugs and kisses, I love these creative alternatives! Thank you!
Awesome awesome awesome!!!! Thank you so much! Love to have such a practical list!
Bless you!
You are so welcome, Gerda! Thanks for the kind comment! xx
I was enjoying your article right up until you said mama and child. Because there’s no dad’s out there huh.
I apologise if I offended you. Of course there are fathers out there who would like to show their kids they love them as well. I simply write from my own perspective and I cannot take every single situation into account. Thanks for understanding that.
My Saying I I use with my son is NOW-Then-Forever-Always I’ll be loving you…