{"id":33546,"date":"2013-09-16T19:19:12","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T19:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=33546"},"modified":"2013-09-16T19:19:12","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T19:19:12","slug":"writing-thank-notes-helpers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/parenting\/writing-thank-notes-helpers\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Thank-You Notes to our Helpers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"iStock_000001673351Small\"<\/a>Last week we discussed ways that when our kids are helping out, especially during the Yom Tov season, we want to make sure that we are encouraging them. Everyone works better when their hard work is appreciated. We spoke about how to avoid using pat phrases, like, \u201cNice work,\u201d
\n\u201cGood job,\u201d and,\u00a0\u201cYou are the best helper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead we want to use descriptive praise:<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that you set the table. The knives, forks and spoons are out. The fans that you made out of the napkins, make the table have that yom tov feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can do more. In one of my parenting classes on positive reinforcement we discussed other ways that we can boost our child\u2019s self-esteem. The Moms in the class decided to write their children a note. They would describe all the positive things the child had done that day to help them.<\/p>\n

Here are two examples of the notes that were written to their school aged children:<\/p>\n

Dear Sara,<\/em><\/p>\n

I had a great day with you today. Thank you for unloading the silverware from the dishwasher and putting it in the drawer. I noticed that you cleaned up the videos that you had taken out after I asked you only once to put them away. While we were at the library you were very excited to sign up for the reading program. I had to finish checking all our books out. It was very hard for you to wait patiently while I did that, but you did wait patiently. You were very polite, saying please and thank you to the librarian when we finally did sign up for the reading program. I also noticed that when you teased your brother and I told you to that \u201cteasing hurts\u201d you stopped right away. I appreciate all that cooperative behavior.<\/em>
\n I love being your Mommy,<\/em>
\n Love, Mommy<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Adam,<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday you acted in a very mature way. You looked for the library books that needed to be returned and put them in a neat pile in the kitchen. You said, \u201cMommy, get me my lunch!\u201d I asked you to add a \u201cplease\u201d to your request and you did it. That is very hard to do, to respond to a direct command. You showed respect to me and you should be very proud of yourself. You did not want to go to the store but you went anyway. You helped Lauren pick out a water bottle and you picked out ice cream you thought Daddy would like. Also, when I asked you to get off the computer, you did.<\/em>
\n I really appreciate all the hard work you did in trying to behave and get along with your siblings.<\/em>
\n I love you very much.<\/em>
\n Mommy<\/em><\/p>\n

It would be great if we could spend a few minutes writing some notes to our kids letting them know how helpful they have been over Yom tov. If that is too hard, then at the Yom Tov table, you could publicly thank your kids for helping you out.<\/p>\n

I just want to let you all know how much I appreciated everyone\u2019s help this Erev Yom Tov. Potatoes and carrots were peeled, brownies were made, and laundry was folded and put away. That was a huge help. Most of the time, when I asked you to do something you did it, sometimes even right away. Thanks for working together with me so we could prepare for Yom Tov calmly.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have a wonderful Yom Tov,<\/em><\/p>\n

Shana Tova,<\/em><\/p>\n

Adina<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes going the extra mile to make a loved one feel appreciated is the best way to keep their spirits up. This becomes especially pertinent during the stressful weeks leading up to (and during) the holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":720,"featured_media":33562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nWriting Thank-You Notes to our Helpers - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/parenting\/writing-thank-notes-helpers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Writing Thank-You Notes to our Helpers - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes going the extra mile to make a loved one feel appreciated is the best way to keep their spirits up. 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