With 9 kids, I work extra hard to be sure they each know they’re deeply special to me. But even if you have 2 kids….they need to know that you think of them with fondness. That’s why I have little nicknames for the kids.
It can fit your style…either have a specific nickname, like calling Stephanie “Stephy” or a general one like, “Honey-Muffin.”
I tend to call my kids all kinds of nicknames. Babydoll, Punkin, Little Man, Sometimes I go off of what they’re wearing….Spiderman, Stripey, Blueman. It doesn’t really matter as long as it is complimentary and makes them feel special.
Anytime I can I call them by a nickname. When they walk into the room I’ll say, “Hey Love Bug! Whatcha need?” While we’re cleaning the porch I say, “Good sweepin’ Baby Girl.” I also have little nicknames that go with all of their names too, “Gracie-facey, Noah-doah, I call Adam, “Adam-scaddum-waddum-faddum-diddum-doddum-do.” He loves it.
It’s just another small way to make a heart connection with your child everyday.
Give it a try, french fry!
I’ve got more ideas and encouragement happening over on Facebook!
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Lisa, I am following this series with great interest! You have such great, and quite do-able, ideas for connecting with our children.
My own nickname for my son (Ryan) was Ry-sie. When he was an older teenager, one of his friends said, “I think your mom just called you Ry-sie in front of your friends.” Oops.
But Ry-sie didn’t really care. (Yay!) And now his wife calls him that occasionally.
I love nicknames! That’s why my kids thought their names were Sweetie Pie, Kris, Ry-sie, Rys-and-Shine, Katigrace, Pumpkin, Cup Cake, and BekahBoo. (Their birth certificate names are Kristin, Ryan, Kaitlyn, and Rebekah.)
Cheryl, I love that! Rys-and-Shine is my favorite. It makes me smile. Thanks for commenting! Lisa~
I may not have kids -yet- but my husband and I have our own nicknames for each other and my all time favorit is being called “honey-biscut”.
BUT I will not allow anyone to call me babydoll. That is reserved for my only my Daddy to call me. <3
Andrea, that is so sweet! James and I have nicknames too. A lot of these tips work great for your marriage also. Lisa~
That is soo sweet! Our kids grandmother has a nickname for all of her granddaughters–Angel Girl is our daughter; Cupcake, BabyDoll, and Butterfly are the other three girls. For all of the boys, they all have different first names, so she calls them her “favorite (name)”. The kids all love it, and she also buys them things around their nickname, for the girls. Our daughter got an Angel nightgown, Angel Barbie, and many other things. It has really made them connect with her a lot. We call our son Blue Eyes and Bones…all in fun. We call our daughter Little Miss or Blondie. They like it.
Oh Sonja that makes me look even more forward to having grandchildren someday! Lisa~
I am soooo going to be your first customer when your e-book comes out !!!! Honestly the BEST advice ever. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’m a teacher with 500 elementary school students through my space every week. I call them all by those same kind of nicknames… Babycakes, sweetie pie, George, monkeys… They LOVE it as much as my kids do.
Gwenn, that is so sweet! What a blessing for those kids to know that you love them. Thanks for sharing! Lisa~
This is a great tip, Lisa! Thankfully we actually do this already. Each of our kids have little endearment nick-names and I think it does make them feel special.
From oldest to youngest: PooBear, Scooter, BabyGirl, LittleMan
Amanda´s last [type] ..Homeschooling Teens
Amanda, I have a “Little Man” too. In fact, if I accidentally call one of the other boys little man he pipes up, “Mommy…HE’S not Little Man….that’s MY name!”
Our daughter has about 10 nicknames: sweetthing, snugglebug, goober ( my daughter asked what it meant and I had to look it up because I wasn’t sure myself…goober – basically a goober is just a kindhearted, rather oblivious goofball. it’s term of endearment really. it comes from the ancient scottish verb “to goub”, which has to do with doing a dance and smiling sheepishly while doing so, exposing the goubs in one’s teeth. fruitloop, nut, baby girl, jordi, can’t think of the others. I am 41 and still get called by my nicknames and love them. Dawnee, Punk ( my grandpa called me that and when he was still alive he called our daugher Pumpkin).
My daddy still calls me Scara-Beara sometimes — and I still pretend I don’t like it. :0)
We have a Zack-aroni, Jake-ster and Turbo (or Doodle-wax) here.