Yesterday on Food For Thought Friday, Colleen wrote about the importance of celebrating kids and letting their birthday be a day when they really get the red-carpet treatment (Click HERE to read). While some parents refuse to really lavish the birthday attention, fearing that children will suffer from inflated ego or neediness as a result, we’re of the mind that kids are more likely to suffer from a lack of attention and celebration than too much of it. A birthday is the time to really lay it on thick.

Celebrating kids doesn’t have to mean a big expense—in fact, it shouldn’t be about money at all. Too often we take the easy route and spend a lot of money. Time and creativity go farther in the eyes of a child. A box cake with rainbow sprinkles and tons of candles, a favorite meal, or a free afternoon to do a craft project together is golden to a child. Teach your kids to be charmed by the little delights in life—the things that are often free and that they’ll still be able to enjoy in times of abundance or poverty.

The little things you do to celebrate your children today are the memories they are going to have of you in thirty years. Yes, they do remember. Fill their minds and memories with the knowledge that they were loved and appreciated and completely special just for being themselves.

Take it a step further. Have you written your children’s birth stories? Kids love to hear the tale of how they came into the world. Click HERE to read more about birth stories.

How did your parents celebrate you? How do you celebrate your kids?