Write Your Child A Hug With Little Jots

Guest post by Ana Calabresi

I’ll be honest with you, I had never heard of school lunch notes before. Where I grew up, I guess it was not common for moms to slip in those love notes to their kids to remind them they are loved and feel connected to their parents during the day. Fast-forward a couple decades (ok, maybe a little more), and I’m a mother to a first-grader who just learned how to read. And I come across Little Jots.

Little Jots is sure to be a hit among those who are as crazy about stationery as I am. The neatly-designed and colourful notes come in a cute hardcover book the size of a wallet. It also comes with a pen, so you don’t have to look around your home just to find one that doesn’t work when you most need it. There are two sets of notes, blank and pre-written ones, which are great for those days when you are in a hurry packing your child’s lunch in the morning.

So went ahead and wrote my first note to my daughter. I chose a blank one and wrote in the language we speak at home (we are a bilingual family and she’s learning how to read both). I didn’t let her see it when I put it in her lunch bag. When she’s back home in the afternoon, she asks, “Why did you put that note in my lunch bag?”

“Because I love you and wanted to let you know you are special to me,” I said. “Didn’t you like it?”

She did, but I felt she didn’t quite get the point.

The next day, I chose a pre-written one. I folded it carefully and sealed it with the hug sticker. The reaction was different this time, as she commented on the note when we met at the end of the day.

Later on she wanted to write a note herself, to her dad. Although Little Jots are made for parents to write notes to their kids, I found it cute that my daughter wanted to give dad a Little Jot too. She loved the little book and flipped through the pages of pre-written notes to choose one that had a nice message for dad. “You are important to me” sounded just fine. She scribbled and drew some more on the note, signed it and gave it to my husband.

I sense a family tradition in the making.

I love the concept of Little Jots. With the busy schedules we have these days, I believe children can benefit from a small gesture of love like a heartwarming note from their mom or dad in the middle of the day. They are reminded that we care about them and this can boost their confidence and self-esteem. And Little Jots make it so much easier with the beautifully-designed notes that you simply fold and close with a “hug” or “kiss” sticker.

Little Jots ($14.95) can be ordered online or you can find it at some retailers in the Lower Mainland.

Ana Calabresi would love to have had love notes written by her mom when she was a kid. Ana lives in Vancouver with her two daughters and husband.