Appreciations

I have been thinking about the idea of Appreciations as reinforcement for positive things I would like to see more of. I went back through our Family Meeting book and tried to find themes in the Appreciations that Dan and I have been giving to the children. Two big ones were Maturity/Growth (doing new things, handling things better, etc.) and Being Loving (through acts or words). Others were Generosity, Courage, Problem Solving, Fun, and Responsibility. For Toby, two areas I would really like to fertilize are Thoughtfulness and Responsibility. So I can use this perspective to inform which Appreciations I give, and even how to frame them. For instance, this morning Hazel asked Toby if she could hug him goodbye when he left for school. He hugged her back. It would be easy to present it as loving, but I will frame it as consideration for her feelings - to encourage more of that!

Affection between my kids has exploded in the past week. They are each saying "I love you" to the other, hugging a lot, and kissing sometimes. I am just beside myself with joy and keep trying to remember it's probably a phase. Is this a result of so many Appreciations for being loving?