Do you say I Love You???

[Ilithyia]

Hi!

I was thinking thismorning about wether i say "I love you" enough to my children. Affection and I love you's were something that was rarely said or shown in my family so i make a concious effort to say it as much as i can to my kids.

I say it to both the girls when i go to tuck the them in at night. They are usually both asleep by now as Brent puts Briley down while i am BF Colby. I like to think that they can hear me in their dreams. I do say it at other times and i am pretty sure Briley understands what i mean.

So, Do you say I love you??? How often???

[*Shell*]

I say "i love you" to my older DD when she goes to bed, when she goes to school, if shes upset or if we've been on the phone its the last thing we say to each other (She's 13, i think if i did it anymore it would just be "uncool"!!).
To Emily im always saying "mummy loves you soooooo much!" this i do all day - just so she's sure!! lol.

[mbear]

im pretty sure i say 'mummy loves you' a couple of times a day, to each of my girls. Although its not always the words, actions can mean as much too. i often say "Can mummy have a kiss/cuddle?".......
So to sum it all up, i say 'i love you' a couple of times a day - but find doing a puzzle with them, reading them a book, or getting them to help me fold the washing and praising them is often remembered more.........

[Tanya]

I suppose children can never get enough "I love you"'s, but I think if they know they are loved then you are fine
Looking back to my childhood I honestly cannot remember being told "I love you" by my parents, which is sad because now i have trouble saying it to my partner (I have no trouble with my children tho) and I think this is where it has stemmed from. I can also say i could have been showed a lot more love from them and it would have helped with my confidence.

I tell my children I love them before bed and when they go anywhere. DP is always telling them he loves them. He has them trained, he says, 'how much does Daddy love you' and they reply, 'lots and lots'. Very cute

Sounds like you are doing a great job

[sushee]

I say 'I love you' to Charlie many times in the course of a day, and used to do the same to my older kids when they were younger. Now they're older, we say it to each other when we say goodbye, to finish off a conversation on the phone, when they want something from me (Lol!) and when they're hurt or sick.

Actions count for a lot when they're younger, but when they're older, a cuddle is not often welcomed. DS2 does give me a kiss before he heads off to school and when he gets back, but would be mortified if his friends ever witnessed it. DD and DS1 are beyond the point of being embarrassed and kiss me all the time.

ETA Tanya you bring up a great point. My parent have never said 'i love you' to me. Maybe along the lines of 'because we love you' but that's about as direct as they've ever been. But I used to stay with my mum's extended family on weekends and holidays and they were very tactile and very loving, with 'I love you's and kisses and cuddles all over the place. I think it's why, of my siblings, I am the tactile one who has no problems showering my kids and my DH with love. My sister and borthers are not touchy feely at all. I hope my kids grow up to be loving tactile adults.

[Kazbah]

I say "love mummy" when I bring Pip to me for a kiss (which at this point is a bite of my nose) and "love pip" when I kiss him on the cheeks.

[Annikas_Mamma]

Only all day long I'll usually pick Annika up, give her a kiss, and say I love you. Affection wasn't something that was shown towards me very often as a child, so I like Annika to know how I feel about her.

[BellyBelly]

All the time here too - mostly just because

[mrsr]

James and I say it to each other all the time. He even says it out of the blue preceded by, "you're beautiful". Big mooshy moosh moosh he is.

[Phteven]

I say it about a million times a day lol.
My boys are lucky to get through an hour without being grabbed for a huggle.
Yasin used to say "lubeees" when he couldn't sat I love you properly - it was so cute. Now he says "you sweet mama". It makes mr feel all warm and fuzzy.
If Imran needs a cuddle he comes over and says 'ugeees'.
I don't remember my parents saying it much as a child but I always knew they did so they must have.
All my family say it after phone calls.

[*EmJa*]

I say it alot everyday, everytime DD goes down for a nap, when i watch her playing and seeing her so happy is when i go give her a big kiss and cuddle and say "mummy loves u"

[christy]

I know with Matilda I would say it when she was asleep all the time & had to start making an effort to say it more often. When she was a baby she's scream herself to sleep all the time, either in my arms or in the cot & I found it really hard to say "I love you" through the screams. Now DH & I say it everytime we leave the girls, on the phone and just because. With Matilda now she will occasionally run up to me & say "I love you too mummy" which has brought tears to my eyes as she is saying it before me. Jovie I say "I love you" everytime she has a breastfeed & when we are having a cuddle.

Because I didn't hear it unless there was a reason at home I always try to say it for as many things as I can and remind myself to say it more whenever.

[Pretty Butterfly]

I say it all the time, but it is a definate at the nightly routine for bed. All my children were read the book " How much do I love you?" and we always say to each other " I love you to the moon and back" ....The book is nearly in tatters now!!!

[Ambah]

My parents never said it to us, or only very rarely.... and I remember questioning as a child on many occasions whether they did actually love me.

I say it to Aidyn many times a day, always with a cuddle and a kiss.... and its beautiful to hear him say it back

[LuluHB]

I tell DD I love her all the time - whenever she goes down for a nap, gets up, has a cuddle, is playing, is breathing!! DH and I tell each other we love each other all the time too. I don't think you can ever say it enough, and I don't think saying it all the time lessens its meaning. DH and I both know how much we are loved by the other through actions, but its still nice to hear and I want my daughter to grow up feeling the same way. I've lost too many people unexpectedly in my life to not take every opportunity I can to tell those I love how much they mean to me. When my former fiance died a few years ago it meant a lot to me that the last words we said to each other were "I love you".

[Mother Goose]

I'm another that says it lots. Definate times I say it are when she goes to bed, when she is hurt or unsettled, or just because! I also like to tell her I'm proud of her - something I've never heard my parents say.

[*Nikki*]

I say it all the time too ... many many times a day

[MistyFying]

I say it quite a few times each day too, and try to say it in different contexts, so it doesn't just become the "ending to a sentence or a behaviour" if you know what I mean. Sometimes I'll sit one of them down over a snack and look them in the eyes and tell them everything about them that I'm proud of and then tell them they're very special and unique and that I love them very much. Both of my kids will randomly come up to me or DH and say, "I love you sooooooo much." (usually with an accompanying huggle, as DD calls it, or a love slap from DS).