Say ‘I Love You’ with a Poem
Originally published in the Parents’ Resource Guide, Spring 2019
James James Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great, Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
“Mother”, he said, said he;
“You must never go down to the end of town,
If you don’t go down with me.”
This snippet of verse from the poem, Disobedience can be found in the book, When We Were Very Young, by A.A. Milne, first published in 1924. I was reminded of this childhood favorite during a Positive Parenting class exercise about quality time. One family shared about their nightly ritual of saying a few verses at bedtime. The dad talked about how his wife started the tradition. “Now,” he said, “it’s kind of our thing.” What a way to say, “I love you, and sleep tight!”
Poetry is Fun at Any Age
It made me want to head straight home and get my old poetry books out, and so I did. I read them to myself out loud. How can you not? Reading them out loud is half the fun! It reminded me of reading poems to my daughter, as well as cuddling up with my own mom and a favorite book of poetry when I was little. Not that long ago
Poetry is important for children because it is, “the best words in the best order.” This quote is by J. Patrick Lewis, Children’s Poet Laureate of 2011. He also said, “The rhythm and rhymes can help children develop a love of language—and a love of reading.” I think he’s right. Who can resist the playful word fun of a good poem?
Give Poetry a Try
Even if you have never tried it before, poetry reading can be a lovely way to spend a little time with your children before bed, at dinnertime, whispered while waiting at the doctor’s office, or just
It’s fun to bounce along with the rhythm of a good poem. Read the top of this page again, out loud this time…see what I mean? Hope you have fun saying,“I love you” and so much more to your children with poetry.
