A teacher reading to her students.
Every day, we wake up, put on our best face, and greet the world—amid all the challenges (and joys!) life brings. Miss Gellar, a first-grade teacher, has the perfect way to set her kids up for success every morning: a daily affirmation that helps them start the day feeling great and ready to learn.
It goes like this: “I’m awesome. I’m smart. I’m strong. I’m loved. I’m a leader. I’m gooooooood looking. I can do hard things. I can make mistakes. It’s okay to make mistakes. I’m kind. I listen. I’m respectful. I’m a good kid. And I’m gonna have the best Friday.”
The kids then kiss their hands, touch their foreheads and their hearts, then turn to a friend and say, “I’m so glad you’re here.” The affirmation ends with a call to take it with them: “Zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.”
What’s interesting about the phrase “zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket” is that the affirmation isn’t just designed to help them during that day. Like any mantra we repeat, it’s hard to forget, so it can help them well into their adult lives, when the world gets a lot harder.
“I started doing this my first year of teaching, and it’s been part of our routine ever since," Gellar wrote on her Instagram post. "It takes less than a minute, but the impact? Seriously huge. By the middle of the year, my students start leading them — it’s the cutest and coolest thing to watch. It might feel a little goofy at first, but teaching kids to be kind to themselves is so important.”
Kids yelling with their arms held high.via Canva/Photos
Liz Kidney, an occupational therapist who works with children, told Upworthy that repeating affirmations can help children develop a positive inner voice as they mature.
“Kids learn so much by watching and listening," Kidney said. "Hearing and repeating affirmations helps shape their inner voice and the words they’ll use to talk to themselves for years to come. When modeled by parents, teachers, and other trusting adults, they can support confidence, resilience, and emotional safety."
Francesca Emma, a licensed mental health counselor and nationally recognized expert in eating disorders, body image, and anxiety, says that positive affirmations are great for a growing nervous system.
"Daily affirmations are good for everyone, especially children. We know that repeating positive daily affirmations calms the neural pathways and, as a result, regulates the nervous system,” she told Upworthy, adding that affirmations can also help them develop positive self-talk. “It quiets the negative self-talk that many kids develop as they start to grow and see themselves in the external world. They also allow them to learn to accept things—like mistakes—as external, normal parts, rather than turning them into internal negative self-talk."
Gellar’s daily affirmation clearly hits all the right spots. It focuses on building her kids up, helping them overcome challenges, and looking out for their classmates. But what else could she include? Kidney says a message about personal safety could be beneficial as well.
“When my own children or clients are feeling unsafe or upset, I love ‘I’m sad but safe,’ or ‘I'm nervous but I'm safe.’ It validates the feeling and reassures safety at the same time. And one of my favorites with my own daughter is a call-and-response: I say, ‘Mom keeps you,’ and she finishes, ‘safe.’ It’s become a grounding ritual for us in hard moments," she told Upworthy.
Gellar’s affirmations are an excellent way for kids to start the day and to give them a positive mantra to lean on when things get tough. They also help build lasting perseverance and self-esteem in kids that’ll last long after they finish elementary school.