Take Time To Write Kids A Letter

Just about everyone can agree that it is important for parents to tell their children that they love them. If parents write that special message down on paper, however, it can have a more powerful impact on children in addition to providing a cherished memory that can be revisited scores of times over the years.

In an effort to get parents, grandparents, friends and relatives to put a message of love into words for their special child, Camp Fire Boys and Girls is sponsoring Absolutely Incredible Kid Day on Thursday.

This is the second year for the national event.

“One of our biggest issues in Camp Fire is building and developing children’s self-esteem,” says director of public relations Dee Cerutti of the Inland Empire Council of Camp Fire. “Our idea behind all of that, of course, is that a kid who feels good about themselves is going to be a successful child.”

Cerutti emphasizes that writing a letter doesn’t have to be a huge production. It can be as simple as tucking a loving note into a child’s lunchbox. “This does not have to be a four-page manuscript,” she says.

The most important thing is to let kids know that they are loved.

“Parents in the busy world that we live in, don’t always have time to let kids know that they love them and that they appreciate them for who and what they are,” says Cerutti. “Kids don’t just assume those things. They have to be told.”

Camp Fire leader Melinda Norman wrote letters to her three children last year, as well as to the 22 girls in her two clubs.

“My kids still have theirs up on their bulletin boards,” says Norman. “It’s something that they are hanging on to.”

In her letter to her 12-year-old daughter, Jennifer, Norman wrote: “I am so proud of all your accomplishments. Reach high, because if you can believe it, you can achieve it.”

Former Camp Fire leader Donna Krell realized that the affirming message wasn’t limited to young kids, so she mailed a letter to her 25-year-old daughter, Julie, who is attending medical school at the University of Washington. Krell said she plans to write another one this year, focusing on how pleased she is with her daughter’s ambitious dream and hard work.

Employees at Washington Water Power plan to deliver letters to the kids at the YWCA shelter. Camp Fire has special paper, envelopes and pens for the occasion. Camp Fire has tables set up at the Tidymans stores in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls through Thursday. A table will be set up in Spokane Valley Mall on Thursday. Stationary is also available at the Camp Fire office, 154 S. Stevens, and at the KHQ studio, 4202 S. Regal. , DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE WRITE WAY Camp Fire offers these tips to make writing a letter to that special someone easier: Set aside some time in a place where you can be undisturbed for 10 to 20 minutes. Form a mental picture of the child and the things that you enjoy and appreciate about the child. To get started, try using phrases like “Do you know what I like about you?” Be specific and be descriptive. Use humor. Don’t lecture. Don’t worry about length. A note can be cherished as much as an epistle. Write it by hand.