Thank You Letters From Parents To Their Kids

Like so many parents, Bob Brody started a journal for his two children, Caroline and Michael, filling it with memories from their lives and telling them stories from his. Unlike most of those parents, he kept at it for more than a few weeks, and for Christmas a few years ago he gave each of them the whole of what he had written, a word count (yes, he did all this at a keyboard) of more than 60,000 words.

Then he turned the writing-to-your-children exercise into a website, where he invites readers to join him, and leave messages to their kids. In an era where families communicate in microbursts -- texts, IMs, sticky notes -- he and his small following are out there writing real letters.

For Thanksgiving, Bob added two holiday themed letters to his children's collections -- these latest are Thank You letters, telling the kids what about them he is most grateful for. Other parents have chimed in.

Shouldn't they be thanking us? I asked him.

Well, yes, it would be nice if they wrote back, he agrees. And maybe one day they will. Until then "A written thank-you is permanent. A keepsake.," he says. "Your kids will never forget it."

Here are some of the thank you notes writers have left on Letters to My Kids. Click through, then head over to write your own -- and be entered for a chance to WIN a prize from HuffPost Parents!

Comments

[BookPRGirl]

09:43 PM on 11/28/2011

I love Bob's site and was so happy to read this post. Thank you! I had the honor of writing a letter last year on Letter To My Kids. http://letterstomykids.org/guest-blog-the-two-best-gifts-a-mom-could-eve

[Mr Anonymous]

10:50 PM on 11/27/2011

To: My 2 children.

Thank you for going to bed so that I can finally relax for an hour out of the day before I go to bed.

From: Dad

[ldyqtee6]

06:00 PM on 11/27/2011

Kids do not want written expressions of thanks or love; they want stuff in abudance. If you don't give it to them, then they conclude that you do not love them. It doesn't matter if there's no food, no heat, no light and no roof over their heads, as long as they are given stuff.

Parents don't need to thank kids for anything; doing so will not teach kids gratitude nor humility nor humanity for that matter. Kids on the other hand need to thank their parents daily for every single thing they do.

[Samm8]

09:56 AM on 12/06/2011

WHACK!!! U can't say this for ALL kids!! If you teach them to value, eventually they will understand... Children understand love and appreciation as well as adults... Of course there is a difference in how they recieve it but then again "no one is the same". Parents need to thanks their children to teach them to be grateful for "the little things" if you treat them a certain way that is how they are trained and it is what they know... Thanking your kids shows them that there is more to life than material things. I hope you all take these things into consideration when raising your "children"... Treat them like animals and that's how they'll act...

[indigoinfrance]

01:13 PM on 11/25/2011

We've got a blog for our DS, which we started when he was still in the womb. Not only does it allow us to share 'whats up' with the rest of our family who are scattered around the world but eventually he'll take much joy (I hope) in looking back through the photos and stories that chronicle his evolution from infant to baby to toddler... until he's old enough to take it over for himself. We take the time to update it almost weekly, and have done so for 2 years. In fact, the availability of his name in a URL was a deciding factor in naming him!!

[RaisingGreatMen]

11:30 AM on 11/25/2011

I wrote my son a "Thank you" letter 3 years ago and he still has the letter. I thank him every day for helping out with his little brother. I think besides writing to our children, if we practiced gratitude with them daily, they would be more apt to do the same.

[RossEllis]

11:20 AM on 11/25/2011

Recently I wrote an article about teaching kids and teens gratitude. When I came across this article about parents "thanking kids" it made me smile. When we thank our kids, it creates more nurturing and increases their self-esteem. It makes them want to do better. But the most important thing it tells your kids is that you love them unconditionally. That's the most beautiful thing any parent can ever tell their children.And maybe by thanking your kids, you as parents can become a positive role model to parents who need extra help with their parenting skills. Just maybe a parent who neglects or abuses their child will read this and get it! No matter what ---kudos to Lisa Belkin for writing this to Bob Brody for this wonderful idea!
Ross Ellis
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Love Our Children USA
www.loveourchildrenusa.org

[harriettubman]

11:07 AM on 11/25/2011

Wonderful idea!!

[TheSecularist]

11:05 AM on 11/25/2011

Only 3 of the 8 thank-yous seemed sincere. The rest seemed either contrived or sarcastic.

[airfrce1995]

06:41 AM on 11/25/2011

HAHAHA, AverageZoe...best comment ive ever read!!!

[reticulum9]

05:30 AM on 11/25/2011

My daughter's birthday is today. She is the most wonderful child any parent could ever wish for. I am truly fortunate.

[pslcitizen]

08:31 PM on 11/24/2011

Hug your kids often...no matter how old they are.

[peteschwarze]

06:25 PM on 11/24/2011

in the overall scheme of human events, we make the mistake of thinking we answer to our parents...we don't. our parents train us. we are judged by our grandchildren. our kids hold the magic key.

[averagezoe]

05:41 PM on 11/24/2011

What lovely sentiments. All I can say to my daughter today is thank you for finally moving out after making my life a living hell for so many years.

[raypapo]

11:39 PM on 11/24/2011

LOL.

[PaulaMV]

02:15 AM on 12/03/2011

Ha! Love it.

[Gayle Gardner Lin]

05:50 PM on 11/23/2011

To my five adult children: Thank you for giving me of full life of excitement and joy, with just enough drama mixed in to keep it interesting and to make me stronger.
Thank you for taking care of me now that I'm losing my brain cells and my lung power.
Thank you most of all for forgiving me my many shortcomings and mistakes.

[ilanamama]

04:56 PM on 11/23/2011

Dear L, Thank you for sleeping past 5am this morning (It wasn't quite 6, but I'm not complaining). Moreover, thank you for not hitting your sister today (unless you think whacking over the head with a drumstick qualifies as hitting). Mostly though, thanks for making our happy little family of 4 a happy little family of 4.