Journaling: A Family Affair
In our book 2am Parenting, we share how journaling was one thing that helped us deal with our emotions and push through. As our kids have gotten older, we’ve realized that it’s important to check in with each other. We know that spending quality time together is important for nurturing any relationship. We’re intentional about the time we share with our boys, with each other as a couple, and altogether as a family. We’ve realized that we must be equally intentional about checking in with one another. As we’ve navigated a “new normal” in 2020, we’ve incorporated journaling into our boys’ lives as a way to help them process and express their emotions and needs.
We began with explaining to them…..
Big ideas broken down for little minds
What is journaling?
Journaling is the space where everything in your head and your heart gets put down on paper. Writing things down helps you get all of your thoughts about how people, situations, and experiences make you feel out of your head.
Benefits of journaling?
When you write down our feelings, mood, worries, fears, and any other emotions down in our journals, you know that those things are safe and you’re free to say it however you want to express it. You decide what gets said and what doesn’t. Oftentimes we keep our feelings bottled up due to the fear of how it will be received, fear of being vulnerable, wanting to avoid conflict….whatever the reason. You don’t have to worry about how it makes someone else feel. You can release all of your feelings at once and without restraint.
Types of journaling?
There is no right or wrong way to express your feelings in your personal, private journal. You can do it any way that feels right to you.
- You can freestyle your thoughts by dumping everything in your mind down on paper.
- You can start with a thinking stem or prompt to help get your brain thinking and your pencil moving.
- You can write down your thoughts on different Bible verses or even some that you want to memorize to help you through difficult times.
- You can write out your prayers, worries, and cares to God.
- You can write out your goals and ideas to help keep you focused and motivated. A journal is the perfect space to dream big and write out the specific details about your goals, including how accomplishing the goals will make you feel.
Journaling varies from person to person, from the type of journaling to the method of journaling. Journaling can be a personal experience but also something you can do as a couple and a family. The most important thing is allowing yourself or your kids the space for expression.
Ready to get started?
We created an easy mental wellness check-in for our boys to capture their thoughts.
Grab your free copy below!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UTQdnOrr2XOcMQbRNWUekRrP7KvgR0fG/view?usp=sharing
We also have the “2am Journal: a journal for your late night/early morning thoughts” available on Amazon.
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