Love Month Challenge Week Two: Love Yourself

The Arctic Cub Hat in Leopard Neutral

It's week two of Love Month, and it's been fantastic to see you all join the fun in week one! Last week we were exploring how to Love Where You Live, and this week we're focussing on Loving Yourself. 

As a wise philosopher once said, if you don't love yourself, how are you going to love anyone else? Actually I think that was RuPaul, but the point still stands. Self love is a life long journey, and fostering self love in children is an invaluable life lesson. But it's as useful for little ones as it is for adults. Life can get so busy, and we often forget to give ourselves a bit of TLC. Take some time this week to recognise all the things you love about yourself and give yourself a bit of praise: you're doing amazingly! 

These love month challenges are just a bit of fun, so do as many or as few of the activities as you like, and cater them to your little ones and what works best for you. 

Are you planning on trying out any of these fun Love Month activities? Chat with us on social media and show us all the fun you're having! Follow us on Instagram or Facebook!

Wednesday: Prep Day!

Get ready for week two of Love Month by prepping any of the bits and bobs you might need, and talk through what you might be doing this week.  

Bits and Bobs for Week 1:

• Pen and paper
• Your favourite outfit
• Your chosen music streaming service 

Image via Instagram @Emma_Giacalone_Textiles

Thursday

Grab a pen and paper and head outside! While you're enjoying the outdoors, write down three things that are wonderful about yourself, and three things you love. Little ones can either write or draw their answers, or you can give them a hand! Take a chance to chat through the answers they've given and why. 

Keep the note, either in a coat pocket or somewhere at home where it can be seen often: it can be used when we need to be reminded of how amazing we are! 

Affirmations can be built into your everyday life for adults and little ones, and a great way to set up for a positive day. 

The Arctic Cub Hat in Toucan Play  

Friday

How about a hug to show some love on a Friday? Start the day off with giving yourself a great big hug: it may seem strange at first, but hugging yourself can help feelings of self love and boost mood! Wrap your arms round yourselves and have a big squeeze. 

Now head out and find a big tree: you can try this on the way to school or nursery, or while you're out on a nice walk! Just like hugging yourself, hugging a tree releases all those warm fuzzy feelings. Take a moment to close your eyes and breathe deeply while you're hugging the tree. These small meditative moments give us time to take a moment and appreciate not only the world around us, but ourselves. 

Image via instagram @LoogGuitars

Saturday

Shake it off! Saturdays were made for dancing. Get together a playlist on your chosen music streaming service (or if you're really old school, put together a mix tape!) with all your best dancing tunes on. Pull some shapes, do some rubbish dancing, and make sure you're having fun! Dancing isn't about being any good, it's about moving to your favourite music and having fun (or at least that's what we're telling ourselves!).

What are some of your favourite feel good tunes? We love a bit of disco, or the cheesier the better! Keep adding to your playlist, and you'll all have a great playlist filled with everyones favourite tunes: perfect for car rides, rainy days and kitchen discos! 

 

Image via Instagram @LiddieRowl

Sunday

Take time today to say thank you to your body for all that it does for you. It's so important to talk about bodies outside the context of what they look like, and to appreciate everything our bodies can do. 

Choose five parts of your body and say thank you to them: maybe to your feet for helping you to dance, your hair for keeping your head warm and your arms for being able to hug your family and friends. You'll be surprised how much your body is doing for you even when you aren't even thinking about it! 

Monday

Looking fabulous is a way of life, but let's just start with a day! Choose your own outfit using the word "fabulous" as inspiration. What kind of clothes make you smile; do you love bright colours, sequins or something super soft and snuggly? 

If you're looking for fabulous additions to your wardrobe, don't forget to check out our range of hats and scarves for children and adults! Our hats are bright, bold and perfect for adventuring out and about. 

Don't forget to tag us on social media to show us all your fabulous outfits! 

Image via Instagram @HelloLunchLady

Tuesday

Take a moment of calm out of the day to do some stretches and relax. Do what feels good: reach up to the stars, and touch your toes. Stretch out and take a moment to breathe. Lie down, and close your eyes. There are many yoga routines for children, but just focus on doing a little bit of breathing and stretching to start off with! 

An easy breathing technique is to breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four, and hold for four. This can be repeated when relaxing, or feeling overwhelmed. There are a number of small meditative tools that adults and little ones can make use of in a wide range of situations, and are so easy to do. 

Are you doing to take part in any of our Love Month activities? Let us know how you practice self love with your little ones over on Facebook and Instagram. We also have lots of other ideas for activities for little ones over on our Pinterest!

Love planning ahead? Here is the full four weeks of challenges to download.

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After growing up in the North-west of England, Emma’s love of travel and style saw her career move to London with a fashion + business degree,  first working as a trend researcher then menswear buyer for some of the most famous stores in the UK. 

In 2015, having had her first baby she moved to Norwich to explore a family life closer to beaches and the countryside. Becoming a parent she found herself in a world of kidswear that didn’t look good or perform for the type of fresh air fun as a family so she set about creating her own brand. Little Hotdog Watson was born in 2016. The summer and winter hats for kids and adults, jam-packed with innovative protective technology have gone on to win awards, grace the pages of magazines, like Vogue, Grazia, Independent, Mother and Baby and celebrities alike. 

Emma had another daughter in 2019 and became a lecturer in Fashion and Business at Norwich University of the Arts.  She continues to design hats at her dining room table and share her passion to help families get outside more and explore the world. Here is one of her favourite outside blogs; 15 games adults will love playing with kids

Email her anytime at; support@littlehotdogwatson.com or find her on Instagram.