Teaching Children the Power of Affirmations
I was speaking today with a young lady who works in the school system and she related to me a story about a negative situation involving young children picking on one another. Today bulling is very prevalent in our schools and society. What can we do about it? Each one of us can take responsibility and teach our children how to respect self and others.
The Ripple Effect – Affirmation Life Tools at School
We took a basin of water and asked one of the students to drop a small stone into the water. We watched the ripples coming out from the stone when it hit the bottom of the container. Then we asked the student to place his or her hand just before the ripple and see how it stops the ripple. We suggest that you use this tool when you see one student bulling or starting to bully another, if you cannot do it physically do the process in your mind. It is a fact that your subconscious mind does NOT know the difference between a real and imagined event, circumstance, etc., and it takes it as real, and stores that image for all times. Know that you have the power to stop that ripple (bullying) by stopping it with words and/or actions. Always affirm or do things that are to the good of all concerned. This is what I refer to as the “safety clause.”
Why do Some Kids Feel the Need to BULLY Others?
I believe that it is when children feel bad about themselves and their circumstances; they are prone to pick on other kids, as it gives them a sense of power. It is never too late to teach children about the power of affirmations, respect, caring and consideration. We as parents, sisters, brothers, grandparents, and others, are modelling behaviour every day of our lives – Is it positive or negative?
Affirmation Teachings
I did this work for 3 years and I was so excited to see how it was working. I have so many testimonials and the Librarian called the involved teacher to the side and asked her how it was that her class was the most polite and respectful class that she had ever met and she would like to know “the secret.”. Then the teacher shared with her that it was because of the new program ‘Affirm and Learn Enhancement Program’ that Dr. Anne Marie Evers from Canada was teaching and how her 3rd graders were so excited and looked forward to her regular, scheduled, positive upbeat visits. She continued, “This program teaches respect, kindness, consideration and has many Affirmation Life Tools to help students live happier, more fulfilled lives”.
These 30 third graders were so well behaved and considerate that even the Principal asked to sit-in on several occasions and he too expressed how important the ‘Affirm and Learn Enhancement Program’ was for his students.One third grader stood up in class during one of my teaching programs and he said, “My name is Paul and I used to be the ‘Class Bully’, but that was before I learned about those affirmations, (words). I am not doing that any more. Now they call me the “Class Helper” and I encourage others to join me.”
So, this is how this program was created and taught to those wonderful, interested 3rd Graders.
Moms, Dads, and Others
How are we measuring up as role models? It has been proven that children learn by example. If you had a difficult day at the office, and arrive home in a grumpy mood, check your negative mood at the door. Start focusing and concentrating on the good and wonderful things in your life, and they will increase and multiply. Never give negativity a chance to take root and grow in your family and at home. Make it an harmonious place for everyone. Listen, really listen and hear what your children are saying. Communication is very important. Keep that important line of communication open between you and family members. From time to time you may wish to call a family meeting where every person gets to share his/her fears, thoughts, ideas, knowing that they will be heard. It is good to share happy things and experiences with your family. Remember that you are never responsible for another person’s unhappiness. If your teenager refuses to talk with you, never let it interfere with your good, happy feelings. Teach your child how to use this power wisely and you will be giving them the very best gift ever. The gift of the knowledge of the power of Affirmations – a powerful, positive Tool or ‘magic wand’ to achieve their dreams. And best of all – this gift keeps on giving and giving. We can never overuse this power, the more we use it the more there is!And to think that this power is available here and now for every one of us to become aware of, access and use to our benefit. In all my books and teachings, I say the information that I am sharing is so powerful that it comes with a warning. We must never hurt anyone or take from anyone, it must be to the good of all concerned, and that includes you, the maker of the affirmation, and there must be at least a 51% believability factor that the affirmation can manifest as affirmed.
Cards of Life On the Go
One of my colleagues, Julie, was teaching children in Africa and India she came home for a visit and mentioned to me that she wished she had some flash cards, colourful pictures to use when teaching children words from the English language.This sparked an idea in my head.I thought why not use the cards I had from the Cards of Life pictures and we pasted the words on them and they could be used as important flash cards. We typed up words that explained the various activities on the cards such as dancing, talking, exercising, eating, drinking, and learning.Then I remembered very clearly many years ago, when I was about 6 or 7 years of age, at one of the meetings at the church a Minister laid his hands on my head and said “you will be a missionary to Africa and beyond”. I never forgot those words and kept wondering when this would happen. Julie reported back how helpful and educational these flash cards were for her young students in both these countries.
Marline’s Dinner Time Arguing Disappeared
I counselled a mother who became physically ill, usually at the dinner table. Why? Because she anticipated and constantly thought about the arguing and fighting . . . and usually her visualizations came true. Finally, she discovered that she was setting herself up for unhappy, negative dinner times.
Marlene Uses the STOP, Change Direction Affirmation Life Tool
When she started to worry, fear and paint negative pictures in her mind, she simply took the small Stop Sign that I gave her, held it in her hand and while looking at it she said “STOP, Change Direction!” At the same time she snapped the elastic she had on her wrist to anchor those words and feelings. Then she immediately filled that empty space that she had just created with happy, positive, fulfilling, harmonious thoughts and it worked wonders! She asked me how in the world could such a simple, easy-to-do exercise (Affirmation Life Tool) be so powerful and successful. She now enjoys happy, harmonious family dinner and much more.
Note: She is so thankful and reports that she uses the ‘STOP, Change Direction Affirmation Life Tool’ for numerous other situations in her life with fantastic results.
Letter from 8-year-old Jamie
Note: Jamie, I suggest that you share Sample Affirmations with your parents and/or guardians and/or family members. Make it a fun project.
Dear Affirmation doctor; My name is Jamie and I am 8 years old. I have a dog named Toby. How can I teach Toby to do tricks? My brother James , who is 12 says Toby is older than me (in dog years) but he seems kinda dumb. I am smarter than him. Can I use those affirmations to help? Thanks, Jamie P.S. He is a “boy’” dog.
Dear Jamie; Spend time showing and teaching Toby. Be gentle, kind and patient and reward him with loads of praise, petting and giving him his favourite dog biscuits when he learns new things, just like it does for boys and girls It is so important to say kind, gentle, soft words and affirmations to him.
Suggested Affirmation for Toby
My Dog is quickly learning new tricks every day. He looks forward to doing them the right way and I am happy with him to the good of all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I accept on behalf of my dog, Toby
Sign it: I, (your name)___________________Date_____Now Jamie you have made an affirmation for Toby. Be sure to repeat it often. Please let me know how it works! With Caring, Dr. Anne Marie
The Light Bulb Affirmation Life Tool
Dear Dr. Evers,
Just had to write and share our wonderful experience we had while creating and using our Affirmation Life Tool called “Affirmation Light Bulb.” I have been and am a faithful follower of you and your teachings so we decided to give it a try. I had to do something as my kids were certainly bickering and even fighting with each other more and more. We decided to do the Light Bulb Tool for our family – that is my husband, Dan, our 2 children (10-year-old Bruce and 7-year-old Patty). We followed your teachings and first of all we had a family meeting and decided who was going to do what.We created this strange looking Light Bulb in our back yard. It was made from canvas, cardboard and other materials. We found a bunch of old coloured Christmas lights and put them on a board to make a light panel with coloured buttons. Then we took some folding chairs, mats and bottles of water and we all went into the Affirmation Light Bulb. We put on funny looking clothes that made us laugh. We laughed as we all looked so ridiculous, but we were having so much fun as a family. Then Bruce said to his sister Patty. “What button do you think we should push?” Patty replied, “Let’s push the green one for GO.” So they did and we all visualized a beautiful colour green filling our Family Affirmation Light Bulb.
We then created and repeated a family Master Affirmation to keep our planet green, and we sent healing thoughts to our planet. Then I said,”Okay kids, what about the colour pink for love?” We all agreed and we created and voiced one that we made up as we went along. We also create and voiced a Master Affirmation for Love & Peace in the world. And guess what, there was no arguing, not even a thought about it!
Talk about fun and excitement! It warmed my heart to see and hear our kids laughing and enjoying themselves, instead of constantly bickering and shoving each other around. We use this Affirmation Tool (Affirmation Light Bulb) at least once a week or whenever we feel the need to do some family bonding and lo and behold it works wonders, far above our expectations! We are All very grateful to you for sharing your unique and one-of-a-kind Tool! We are discovering new ways to use our Affirmation Light Bulb and we will keep you posted!
***
Hey Moms and Dads out there: It is great for building a sound family foundation. Way to go doctor! You have our vote for best creator for making this so much fun and also teaching us to be kinder and more considerate of each other, our family members and everyone. Thank you for giving us such a fun and happy way! Happy Campers – Patty, Bruce Mom and Dad
NOTE: Please keep your emails coming. Kids.I really love to hear from you and I will do my best to answer your questions, read and consider your comments and ideas. I would suggest that you share with your parents what you are doing. I believe and teach that every affirmation must be recreated to the good of all concerned, and that includes you. Happy days, Dr. Anne Marie
Dear Dr. Evers,
My daughter Tiffany who is a 3rd grader had a wonderful experience with doing affirmations. She followed your instructions from your book, Affirmations Your Passport to Happiness and called her fear of heights a giraffe, brightly coloured and then pasted it on construction paper. She took straws and pasted them over the drawing which made the bars of a cage. She would go (in her mind) and talk to it every day. The more she talked about her fear, the more it lessened its hold on her.
Last month the whole family went on a vacation and I am so happy to report that she participated in every event, even the ones that included going to exhibits, etc. which necessitated travelling on elevators, going up stairs and height. This is such a gift to our family as we always dreaded this part of our trip and now we ALL look forward to our entire trips with happy anticipation. We cannot thank you enough. Yes, we all believe in affirmations and as you always say, ‘to the good of all parties concerned’ and now we are doing them regularly for other things.
I just wanted to let you know that I have used your Star Method in my classroom with great results. We drew large Stars from Cardboard, punched a hole in the top and printed your Star Poem on one side and on the other side the students own personal Affirmation, such as: I am a good speller. I get good grades. I am popular and have many friends, etc. Our Janitor hung each one from the ceiling, yes all 23 of them.
It was interesting to watch the students when they came into the classroom in the morning running to see if their Star was still there. This is a very simple, yet effective exercise in raising self-esteem, grammar, spelling and much more. The students also copied your Star Poem from the board and have it in their note books. Thank you, thank you, thank. Oh yes, I have a copy of your book Affirmations Your Passport to Happiness on my desk in the classroom. Heartfelt thanks from my whole class and me. Joanne, 3rd grade teacher, Phoenix, AZ
Greetings Dr. Anne Marie,
I just loved your ‘Walkway to Fame Affirmation Life Tool.’ I integrated it into my classroom activities. At first some of my kids were shy and afraid to participate, but when they saw how much fun it was, one by one they joined. I feel that this simple exercise really does help increase self-esteem and helps the kids to overcome their shyness of public speaking. When observing their reaction, I was quite amazed. One girl cried and kept her head down the first time.
After doing this exercise several times, she became the STAR. Stephen, one of my more difficult students, did not want to join in. He sat there with his arms crossed and when we ignored him, he slowly, but surely edged his way in. I have noticed the difference in Stephen as he really seems happier, more confident and especially more considerate of other students. There should be more programs such as yours and they should be in every school. Donna, Teacher, Seattle, WA.
Dear Anne Marie,
Greetings, what a wonderful gift the Kids Affirmation Club has been for the children in our group. It gives me terrific joy to see how they looked forward to each weekly meeting with such great enthusiasm. The discussions were invaluable, especially in the area of problem solving where they were encouraged to think creatively and for themselves. These exercises were great confidence builders, helping each one to shine in their own individuality.It was great fun to watch and even greater pleasure to participate. With the proper foundation, starting with our most precious gift – our children, we can built a much healthier tomorrow. The Kids Affirmations Program is definitely a magnificent tool towards this essential objective.Thank you, thank you, thank you! Rosana M., single mother of two beautiful daughters
Dear Dr. Evers,
With our changing times and family structures, it is wonderful to see such a program as this that encompasses family, school, and community. My belief is that parents should be home as much as possible, give children lots of love and encouragement, teach them respect and take time to be involved in their lives. Richard (Daddy) Babbs 90 going on 100.
Dear Dr. Evers,
My son Dennis was always aggressive, even as a toddler. He is now in the 4th grade. He used to fight a great deal and come home with black eyes, a bloody nose and bruises. We were very concerned. Then we met you and received family counselling. I have to tell you that Dennis, who used to be nick-named the ‘‘class bully“ has now changed. When I asked him what happened to change him, he simply said, “Mom, I used to fight a lot, but that was before I learned about affirmations and the ripple effect.“ Then I remembered in one of our counselling sessions you taught our family about the ripple effect and how it works. Thank you so much, Jeannette, UK
Hi Anne Marie,
Hope this is what you’re lookin‘ for. Teaching affirmations to children through this program is a wonderful way to see your communities move forward. As a member of the business community, I am delighted to see children learning practical real life skills that will assist them in becoming responsible individuals and benefiting society as a whole. Wonderful work, Anne Marie. I take my hat off to you! Mira T. Business woman, Denver, Colorado. USA
Dear Teacher Anne,
I am a 2nd grade teacher. I love your idea of doing classroom affirmations stars. On one side we wrote the Star Poem that you teach and on the other side,I had my student write their own short affirmation. I gave them several examples on the board and they picked the subject they liked and made it personal.
For example:
I am popular and I have many friends; I am a good speller and I get good marks, etc. I told them they could use whatever color scheme and /or background they wanted to. It was so interesting to see some of their creations. I asked our adult school helper to hang them from the ceiling. Now the first thing they do when they come into the school room is to run and look to make sure their star is still hanging from the celing. This proved to be a very exciting, fun and learning tool for our class and now other teachers in our school are now doing similar exercises with great success. Janice, Teacher, Phoenix, AZ
Anne Marie,
Thank you for sending me your Children’s Affirmation of the Day. It reminds me to send my children to school with a short note from me in their lunch boxes reminding them how much I love them, what is happening that day after school, and what I appreciate about them. I have always included one of your daily affirmations. When I skip a day (or 5) they really notice and ask me to start sending them again. Thank you for the daily reminder of how important affirmations are to our children and ourselves. With gratitude and appreciation. Karen H. North Vancouver, BC
Hi Dr. Anne,
I love your children’s affirmations emails. I have been receiving them consistently. You asked us to email you to let us know how the affirmations are working for you/family. My son is five years old and every morning before we leave the house, I tell him a short affirmation. I explain what it means and tell him that I will do it and at supper we can talk about it. Well, yesterday morning he woke up and asked me what the day’s affirmation was.
I was so happy as I see it is becoming part of his regular morning routine. I see it starting to work as I also overheard him tell his daddy the affirmation and asked him to come up with two or three instances when he applied that affirmation during the day to tell us at supper. I love it that Ronan, my son, thanks to your children’s affirmation program can be taught from a young age to produce the power of positive thinking and believing. I will surely be emailing you again, as I plan to continue doing this with my son on a daily basis. Many thanks to you for keeping the good work! Patty, Overseas
Dear Anne Marie,
This program has empowered my children and myself to be the best we can be. Each day the boys and I chose an affirmation from the box of short form affirmations that I created. The boys read it, think about it and then put it into practice during the day. These affirmations are positive and specific to my personal goals of continued growth and mindfulness in our daily activities. The boys enjoy the hands-on activities of working with the exercises and methods taught. We are happier and more focused now than we were a year ago when we began working with this kids affirmation program. I would like to see this children’s program taught in every home and school. Our heartfelt thanks! Tara C. Parent. Overseas