10 Parenting Mantras For Little Ones

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1. MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK. 

This is a classic saying, but oh so helpful around the house! We often say it in question & answer style. Mom says “Many hands make…???” and the kids shout “LIGHT WORK!”

2. NO CRYING, NO WHINING, JUST SMILING. 

We often use this mantra in a song like this:

No crying, no whining, just smiling…

CHEESE!!!!

No crying, no whining, just smiling…

CHEESE!!!!

No crying, no whining, just smiling…

CHEESE!!!!

Smile, smile, smile all day long

CHEEEEEEEEEESE!!

3. HUSSLE, HUSSLE, USE YOUR MUSCLE.

This is our saying when I want the kids to go fast, but I’m trying to keep the mood light. I say it in a silly voice and try to get them to hurry a bit.

4. PATIENCE IS: WAIT WITH A SMILE.

I use this saying when my babies are old enough to start learning the idea of waiting. After a while I can ask them “What is patience?” And they can say “wait with a smile.” Then I have them show me their beautiful smile. 🙂

5. EYES ON WHO? EYES ON YOU!

To be fair, I got this saying from the girls’ free week of karate but we use it all the time now. Mom says “Eyes on who?” and the girls shout “EYES ON YOU!”

6. LITTLE BIT OF MONEY, LOTS OF LOVE!

This saying always reminds me of a very challenging but sweet time in our lives when my newly self employed husband was working so hard to keep us financially afloat in a crashing housing market. By God’s gentle prompting, we ended up accepting help from our food stamps program for a few months. One day while I buckled my daughter into the car so we could get our government supplied groceries, I made up this little song choking back tears. I explained to her that we only had a little bit of money, but we had LOTS of LOVE!

7. USE YOUR SECRET WEAPON.

This is a little trick to combat sibling fights and it has been working here and there for us! I explained to my girls that their smile is their secret weapon, and if their sister is doing something mean or unkind to them that they should use their secret weapon (their smile) instead of being mean back to them. My silly girls can’t resist a smile – this tactic gets them all smiling and laughing in moments. It doesn’t work all the time, but we celebrate when it does! (see #9)

8. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FAST, JUST STAY ON TASK.

I often say this during schoolwork and chores. Sometimes if my girls are trying to go too fast they get sloppy and don’t do their best work. It seems like I’m always reminding them to stay on task though, and I use this mantra to keep them focused on staying on task instead of just going super fast.

9. CELEBRATE EVERY WIN.

This has become our family motto and I think it’s a great reminder for all of us. In a world with all sorts of struggles and failures, it’s important to really, truly, deeply and genuinely celebrate every win we have. We never know what tomorrow – or even the next moment – will bring, so we say this in our family to remind us to truly live today and take joy in the good things of life.

10. ALWAYS ASK JESUS FOR HELP.

My biggest number one goal in raising my children is to lead them towards a real relationship with Jesus. They can memorize a whole bible of verses and go to church every Sunday for their entire childhoods, but if they never actually meet Jesus and experience all that comes with learning to walk with Him through life, then I will certainly feel like I missed the main event . In a simple way to start their journey, I remind myself to point them to Jesus by encouraging them to ask Him for help with anything they struggle with. Of course mom will always help, but I’m planting seeds now so they will one day experience the real help that comes from our Savior.

And just for fun, here are coloring pages of the above mantras. Coloring in the words will help your little readers remember any of these sayings you’d like to bring into your own home. Enjoy!