Encouraging Words For Kids and Positive Messages

Looking for some words of encouragement for kids?

Words are a powerful thing!

They have the power to build us up or tear us down. That’s why our kids need positive messages and encouraging words that will inspire them to be their best selves.

As a teacher myself, I’ve seen first hand the power of encouraging words for students. A special encouraging note to a child can often change the course of their day when things just aren’t going right.

That’s why as a parent and a teacher I think it’s super important to have a list of encouraging phrases and positive words to give our children when they need it most.

Our words become our thoughts, our thoughts influence our beliefs and these beliefs influence our actions. So of course, you want to give your child the kind of thoughts that will lead to strength and resilience.

We often become a manifestation of our thoughts so make sure they’re good ones!

Of course, it’s not always easy to come up with something impactful and meaningful on the spot.

Try out this handle list of 104 inspiring, positive, and encouraging words the next time you’re little one needs a pick-me-up.

As a special bonus, I’ve also included a free ENCOURAGING NOTES FOR KIDS PRINTABLE PDF at the end of this post!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which you can learn more about here.

POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING WORDS FOR KIDS AND STUDENTS ABOUT RESILIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE

I think we all have those days when things aren’t going right. You try and you try and yet, it just isn’t working. I find my students can often become frustrated to the point of giving up.

Here are some positive words of encouragement for kids and students about perseverance, resilience and never giving up.

This is such an important skill for all of us and we need to nurture it in our kids.

1.The only real way to FAIL is to GIVE UP.

2. The struggles you face today will give you the strength you need for tomorrow.

3. You’ve almost got it! Don’t stop now.

4. I believe in you. I know you can do this.

5. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again!

6. The most successful people aren’t the smartest ones or richest ones, they’re the ones who never stopped trying.

7. Mistakes are just proof that you are trying.

8. We all make mistakes. It’s what you do after that counts.

9. There’s more than one way to do things. Let’s try something else.

10. It’s not always just about the right answer. It’s about how we get there. You’re on the right track!

11. It’s not about how many times you fall. It’s about how many times you get back up.

12. Sometimes we just need a break before inspiration hits. Let’s come back to this in a bit.

13. Remember, success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Let’s keep at it!

14. If you’ve tried your best, I’m already proud of you! You should be too.

15. Failure is just one stop on the road to success.

16. We gotta be like Dory. Just keep swimming!

17. Life doesn’t get easier. We just get stronger!

18. I’m so proud of your effort and determination. Don’t quit now!

19. I know you tried your hardest and I’m so proud of your effort.

20. Making mistakes is how we learn. It’s all a part of the process.

21. Every mistake or failure leads you one step closer to success.

22. Repeat after me: I got this! I can’ do it!

23. If you believe it, I know you can achieve it.

24. I can see that you’re working really hard. That’s what counts.

25. Let’s try to approach the problem in a different way.

26. Look how much you’ve improved! Now, that’s what it’s all about.

27. I’m so glad you asked for help! We all need some help sometimes.

28. I love your persistence!

29. Thank you! I really appreciate it when you ___________________________

30. Did you know, the thing I love best about you is__________________________

31. Can we think of a better/different way to try this?

I love hanging beautiful wall art and posters around the classroom with positive, uplifting and inspirational messages for my kids.

If you’re little one’s room or study space (in case you’re homeschooling these days) could use a little motivational magic, check out these beautiful finds from amazon!

Remind your little ones to read them aloud each day and remember how awesome they are! We want them to speak these words and begin to internalize them.

That’s the power of positivity!

MOTIVATIONAL WALL ART FOR KIDS

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INSPIRATIONAL WORDS FOR KIDS WALL ART

GROWTH MINDSET WALL DISPLAYS

LOVING WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR KIDS

Sometimes all they need is a little bit of unconditional love and knowing that we’re in their corner no matter what. That no action or mistake can ever make that love go away.

Children who have positive messages and loving support showered on them every day grow into confident and self assured adults.

Sprinkle some positive and kind words for kids every single day.

1. You make my day better by just being in it.

2. You are so loved. I hope you know that.

3. The world is better because you are in it.

4. I love ________________ about you.

5. Seeing you smile makes my day.

6. You are my everything. You are my world.

7. Spending time with you is my favorite thing to do.

8. Your kind heart inspires me every day.

9. You are so thoughtful and kind. We’re lucky to have you in our lives.

10. You are so brave!

11. I am so proud of you, every single day.

12. I love you, forever and ever. To infinity and beyond.

13. I will always love you. There’s nothing you can do to change that.

14. Did you know, you make my heart happy.

15. One of the best days of my life was the day you were born.

16. You are the best thing, that’s ever been mine.

17. How did I ever get so lucky as to have a kid like you?

18. I love you to the moon and back.

19. I will always be here for you. I got your back!

20. Your words matter to me. How you feel matters to me. You matter to me.

21. You can do anything! I believe in you.

22. I love your generous heart. You are so full of love.

23. I love you no matter what you do and I always will.

24. I may not like it, we may disagree, we may even argue, but know this: I will never stop loving you.

25. I am yours and you are mine, always.

26. If you need me, I will always be there for you.

27. You are the center of my universe.

28. To the world you may just be one person. But to me, you are the world.

29. I wanted you before you were ever born. I’ve loved you even before I ever met you.

30. You are the best gift I’ve ever been given.

31. You are my sunshine! (even on cloudy days)

32. I love you just as you are. You never have to change yourself for me.

33. Why blend in when you were always born to stand out?

34. You are so special to me. There is nobody else like you in this world. You are unique.

35. Your opinion matters to me. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are. How old or tall you are. A person is a person and your opinion is important so always speak your mind.

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UPLIFTING MESSAGES FOR KIDS HAVING A HARD TIME (OR MAYBE JUST A BAD DAY)

Bad times, tough times, negative situations. We all experience them from time to time and kids are no exception.

If your little one is having a bad day or dealing with some tough stuff, here’s a few encouraging and positive words you can give them to help brighten their day.

1. The hard stuff makes us stronger in the end.

2. I know it’s hard but remember this won’t last forever.

3. You are stronger than you believe. I’ve seen it.

4. This isn’t the end. It’s just a bump in the road.

5. When one door closes, look for a window instead.

6. When we can’t control the situation, we have to look at what we can control. That’s how we respond or react to the situation.

7. There’s always tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day. It’ll be a better day.

8. I’m here for you. How can I help?

9. Sometimes it helps just to talk about it. I’m always here to listen when you’re ready to talk.

10. Life’s going to throw you some curveballs. Things won’t always go as we planned. But that’s okay. It’s about how we react to those curveballs.

11. What is coming is better than what is gone. Trust that everything happens for a reason.

12. I know it may not seem like it now, but everything will be okay.

13. Let’s look on the bright side. Let’s think of 1 good thing we have.

14. Life is a roller coaster. There’s lots of ups and downs. Sometimes you can’t really appreciate the ups until you’ve really experienced the downs. Things will get better.

15. I’m sorry you feel this way. Please know it won’t be forever. In time, you will feel better.

16. After the storm, there comes a rainbow. But first, we just have to weather the storm.

17. Nothing can ever dull your sparkle. Look how you shine.

18. You are powerful enough to handle anything that comes your way!

19. You got this! I just know it!

20. Nothing lasts forever. This will pass too.

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ENCOURAGING PHRASES FOR KIDS DEALING WITH FEARS, ANXIETY, AND WORRY

Our little friends have big emotions and it can be difficult to navigate all those strong feelings.

Whatever they’re working through right now, just let them know you’re in their corner and reassure them that these feelings will pass.

Here are some encouraging words for students and kids dealing with stress, anxiety, fear or any other negative emotions.

1. It’s okay to feel what you feel. Whether that’s happy, sad, anxious or mad.

2. I’m sorry you feel this way. Please know this feeling will pass.

3. We all have these feelings sometimes. It will be okay.

4. Let’s take a break. Let’s focus on counting to 10 and taking a big breath in between.

5. It’s okay to be afraid. Just remember I’m always here to hold your hand if you need. I’m on your team.

6. I know it’s hard but give it some time. You will feel better soon.

7. I love you. You are safe.

8. Nothing and nobody can hurt you here. This is your safe place. I will always keep you safe.

9. I would never let anything bad happen to you.

10. Let’s draw how we feel. What color are you feeling like now?

11. I get scared/nervous/anxious too. I know it’s not a good feeling.

12. How can I help? What do you think might make you feel better?

13. Let’s put this feeling on a shelf for now and list an animal for each letter of the alphabet. Then when we’re done we’ll come back to our feelings.

14. I know this is hard but you are so strong. You will be okay.

15. Can you tell me about it?

16. Maybe we just need to scream into the jar, close it up and throw it away. Let’s give it a try.

17. You are a super kid. You are fierce. You are tough! Nothing can stop you.

18. This will get easier. You are stronger today than you were yesterday and tomorrow you will be even stronger than you are today.

WHAT TO SAY TO ENCOURAGE A CHILD?

Now that you’re armed with an arsenal of fantastic positive encouragement words for kids (and students), let’s see the best ways to use the.

When and how do you use encouragement for kids so that it’s meaningful and effective?

Here are some tips to help you use them to really uplift your child’s spirit and confidence.

BE TARGETED AND SPECIFIC WITH YOUR PRAISE ADN WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

We often say things like ‘good job’ or ‘that’s great’ and yes, some form of encouragement is better than nothing at all but there’s a better way to do this.

When we let children know exactly what they did well, it helps reinforce those specific behaviors so it’s best not to use generalized phrases.

This is especially true with our little kiddos. They often can’t decipher what exactly was the ‘good’ part.

Let’s say our little friend helped tidy up and put away their things. If we simply said good job, they aren’t quite sure what it is they did well.

If I say, “Wow! You put those toys away so quickly. I loved that you listened right away and jumped in to help me. That was great. Look how well you cleaned up. Thank you for helping”, this is far more effective.

Here the child is told exactly what they did well so they’re more likely to do the same again.

When we don’t use exact words, sometimes we can unintentionally reinforce negative behaviors.

If I just said ‘great job’, maybe he thinks the way he threw things in the bin was great so he’ll throw them again the next time.

If you name it, they’ll remember it.

USE POSITIVE MESSAGES TO ENCOURAGE EFFORT (PROCESS PRAISE) AS WELL AS ACHIEVEMENT

Make sure you’re praising effort along with achievement. In most things, it’s not just about the end result but how you get there.

It’s important for them to understand that there is more at hand than the big win. We don’t get to the big wins without celebrating the little ones along the way.

This is why with students I always praise and encourage their efforts.

If I see that a student did all the correct steps in a math problem but had a small error that resulted in the final answer being incorrect, I wouldn’t just mark it as incorrect. The final answer is worth only 0.5 out of the 5 or 6 marks for that question.

This teaches them to focus on growth and learning which is more important to me than a final answer.

It teaches the child to focus on hard work and self-improvement.

It places the value on the effort which means they are less likely to give up when faced with failure.

They begin to internalize the fact that failure is just one stop on the road to success.

AVOID INFLATED PRAISES

Don’t just praise for the sake of praising. Praises, like consequences, work best in targeted doses and specific situations.

Too much of a good thing isn’t always good.

If you’re constantly praising (especially for every little thing), those praises don’t come to mean much to a child and can actually have the unintended effect of lower self-esteem or narcissism (check out this study to learn more).

Your child should never feel like the praise is undeserved or insincere. This kind of praise just doesn’t work. It’s almost like you lose credibility.

They don’t need to be praised for every LITTLE thing.

They may feel you’re just doing it placate them so it becomes ineffective.

Just like us, they want their true efforts and achievements to be recognized. We wouldn’t want someone to be patronizing towards us and kids are the same.

ENCOURAGING NOTES FOR KIDS

I love having some encouraging notes for kids in the classroom. I make tons of them, laminate them and randomly hand them out to my kiddos throughout the year to celebrate their many efforts and achievements.

In fact, I encourage my students to fill out little notes for their friends and classmates as well.

We proudly display them in the classroom when we do our fill someone’s bucket activity. (Based on the awesome book Have you Filled a Bucket Today?)

In case you think you might want to do the same, I thought I would share my positive things to say to your child printable pdf with you!

You could slip these sweet and inspirational words for kids notes anywhere you like:

♡ Inside their lunchbox

♡ In their pencil case

♡ In their jacket pocket

♡ In their birthday cards or along with gifts

♡ In one of the many pockets of their backpacks

♡ In their school agenda/planners

♡ Even in a notebook or textbook

It’s such a wonderful feeling when your little open reaches in and discovers a special surprise!

Want some more? D

I found this super inexpensive 100 INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE CARDS on amazon that are super cute with tons of positive and encouraging words.

WRAPPING UP POWERFUL AND POSITIVE THINGS TO SAY TO KIDS

I hope you’ve got a few ideas on the kinds of inspiring, encouraging, and positive phrases to say to your child.

When done right, encouragement and praise can do wonders for a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Our little friends are like sponges. They soak up all these things we say to them, they internalize them and it becomes their internal dialogue.

Let’s shower them with loving words of encouragement and appropriate praise to help them succeed with a growth mindset.

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SHARING IS CARING!