What are your favourite things about your children?

[Gorl]

I think Mumsnet can sometimes give quite a negative impression about having children, because people are (understandably) so much more likely to post about the tough times than the good ones. I thought it might be nice to have some balance by talking about the best bits!

So let me know - what are your favourite things about your children?

I have a son, nearly ten months old. Some of my favourite things are:

When he waves at you and you wave back and it makes him beam all over his face.

When he’s excited about something and he stamps his feet like he’s doing the cucuracha.

How interested he is in everything.

The way he gets hysterics when you say ‘achoo!’

The breathless, snorty gasps of excitement he does whenever he sees me or his dad.

The way he kisses me on the cheek with his whole mouth open and it’s so gross but so cute.

Let me know yours!

This is a gorgeous thread, and as someone who had severe PND and almost no bond with my daughter when she was a baby, it's so lovely to feel that I can and want to contribute to it because she's now my absolute favourite person in the world and I love her beyond the telling of it.

DD is 3.5. There are so many things but I think sometimes it's the small, tiny, specific things that really get me.

We have a low roof outside our bathroom and I once bumped my head on it when I was carrying her. Now any time we come out of the bathroom or go somewhere else that has a low roof she puts her hand on the top of my head to protect it.

When we're in the car she sings the whole time. Not actual songs, just nonsense to made up tunes. It's brilliant.

When she's eating her breakfast and I'm making coffee in the mornings, she gets up every now and again, comes over and cuddles my leg and kisses me wherever she can reach. Then wanders back over to carry on with her cereal.

When something frustrating happens she either says "Cheese and crackers!" (from Bluey) or "Curses!" (from me, shamefully!).

She talks with her hands, constantly gesturing in a very overdramatic fashion.

Her Dad (my DH) died last year. When I cry she says "Are you crying because you miss Daddy?" and when I say yes, she pats my arm and says "It's okay Mummy. It's okay to be sad and miss Daddy. But he's in heaven and he's safe and he's happy. And I'm here and I'll take care of you and I'm not going anywhere."

She is the love of my life, honestly, and I never thought I would feel this way. I'm thankful for it, and for her, every day. I wouldn't still be here without her.

My one-year-old is so determined - she is very strong willed, which will probably cause conflicts as she grows, but I will encourage it as far as possible.

Ds 3:

When he runs in front of me and says "carry shoulder".

How he uses the word "actually" because his older brother does.

His face when he draws me a picture and I say I love it.

Ds6:

Seeing him read his book on the sofa.

Watching him play his football matches. If he does a good pass or scores a goal, he looks at me and smiles.

His face at home time.

I trimmed my list down to just 3. I adore them both!

Oh gosh, where to even start?!

My 16yo dd is amazing. A ray of sunshine in my life who brings me so much joy. She's the first person I want to talk to when I wake up and the last person I think about before I go to sleep. When I've had a stressful day at work, any negativity just evaporates when I see her. And I love spending time with her.

I love her energy, her positivity and her zest for life. She is crazy busy but so full of enthusiasm for everything. Whatever she does, she does wholeheartedly, whether it's school, hobby or part time job.

I love her confidence and ease with talking to anyone. She can build a rapport with anyone in super quick time, regardless of age or background. She's amazing with younger kids but also great at chatting to adults as well as kids her own age. She's really welcoming to newcomers and tries to include everyone.

I love her kindness and generosity. She is so thoughtful about presents for friends and family, and so incredibly good at the little gestures that make people feel valued. She does small practical things to help people out, and to cheer them up when they are down. And she writes the kindest, loveliest messages that regularly reduce people to tears.

I love her intelligence and her sense of humour. Her mind is so quick and she challenges me to think about things in different ways She always sees the funny side of life, but in such a warm, positive and inclusive way. And she is incredibly perceptive - she reads people and situations remarkably well, and has done since she was tiny. She is so much fun to be around.

There are so many more things that I love. I could write about her all night!

I had to name change for this one.

So I have 6 children

Oldest daughter 24. I like that she is strong and she will get through anything. She's a fighter and what does not break her definitely makes her stronger. I'm so proud of her strength 💪 💜

Ds who's almost 19. In the evenings several times a week he comes sits on the sofa when I'm alone. And we have theses most random chats. Where we joke a bit have some banter. And serious chats as well. Hes alway telling his boy friend about our chats and it makes them laugh. He's very open with me and will tell me anything. I'm so proud of him and I feel so happy that he feels he can talk to me.

Ds who's 14 is funny he's tall and skinny he's all arms he keeps telling me he's a beautiful butterfly. He has a dry humour he's funny and cheeky takes the piss a bit to much but he's a teen that's what they do.

Dd who's 11. She's lovely She's loving and caring. She's very easy going. She's either very quiet or noisy I can often hear her laughing loudly in her room. She still loves hugs.

Ds who is 6 has autism. He tells me he loves me 20+ times a day. He sits so close to me kind of pushes himself into my side. He can spend several hours not talking apart from to say mummy I love you . Other times he will chat for ages. It often does not make sense but he's so proud and excited when he does.

Ds who's 5 has a lovely personality he tells me he loves me with all his hart. He looks out for his brother as well. They play together everyday in school every morning they walk in the the gate together holding hands kiss and hug each other good bye. Ds told me they do it every play time as well. He helps his brother explain things when he cant. He's so selfeless he's just 5 and shows such love and care towards others.

My DD is 4. I love how confident she is. How kind she is. How funny she is. How she loves to learn and to play and to sing and to dance. She is strong willed and stubborn and there is no doubt in my mind that she will be just marvellous. I am immeasurably proud of her.

I love this ❤️

I love that ds whos 6 says everything was his favourite if you ask him about birthday presents or a special day out. Also when I gave him a bedtime cuddle the other night and he said he wished we could stay like that for forever. And dd who's 5 is a sassy little thing always come out with funny expressions with a silly face or pose or she says what time is it, it's tickle time.

@viennesewhirligig that's lovely. I'd love that relationship with my own two sons. What do you think the trick is to keep that lovely bond as they get older. My brother hardly ever sees my mum or phones her. My husband's the same with his mum
Makes me worry my boys will be off and never look back!

My 3 week old smiles a lot in her sleep. My 4 year old son when he is excited widens his eyes. He has such beautiful hazel eyes framed by long, curly lashes and makes me melt. He is a whirlwind of energy. Whilst pregnant he would rub my head when I had a headache and often tells me I look beautiful when I clearly don't. My dd is the sweetest, kindest soul. She loves to read and really absorbs facts. She was explaining what she had read about various planets the other day and it was great to see her so excited. She is a quiet child but when she is excited or comfortable she gets louder and chattier. All three are pure joy, hardwork at times but utterly worth it.

@peachgreen

This is a gorgeous thread, and as someone who had severe PND and almost no bond with my daughter when she was a baby, it's so lovely to feel that I can and want to contribute to it because she's now my absolute favourite person in the world and I love her beyond the telling of it.

DD is 3.5. There are so many things but I think sometimes it's the small, tiny, specific things that really get me.

We have a low roof outside our bathroom and I once bumped my head on it when I was carrying her. Now any time we come out of the bathroom or go somewhere else that has a low roof she puts her hand on the top of my head to protect it.

When we're in the car she sings the whole time. Not actual songs, just nonsense to made up tunes. It's brilliant.

When she's eating her breakfast and I'm making coffee in the mornings, she gets up every now and again, comes over and cuddles my leg and kisses me wherever she can reach. Then wanders back over to carry on with her cereal.

When something frustrating happens she either says "Cheese and crackers!" (from Bluey) or "Curses!" (from me, shamefully!).

She talks with her hands, constantly gesturing in a very overdramatic fashion.

Her Dad (my DH) died last year. When I cry she says "Are you crying because you miss Daddy?" and when I say yes, she pats my arm and says "It's okay Mummy. It's okay to be sad and miss Daddy. But he's in heaven and he's safe and he's happy. And I'm here and I'll take care of you and I'm not going anywhere."

She is the love of my life, honestly, and I never thought I would feel this way. I'm thankful for it, and for her, every day. I wouldn't still be here without her.

😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️

@Catflapkitkat

I have 14 year old twins. I love that they sleep a lot

Snap! Especially as they never slept when they were babies 🙈

I am pregnant with my first but I am a Nanny to three boys and they are hard work at times but I adore the 9 year olds dark sense of humour lol. And over the last 2 years how he has developed into such a caring sociable little chat. He was very inward and shy in his early years and it makes me emotional to see how he actively seeks conversations with adults and enjoys others’ company so much now!

I love how the 7 year old loves to be on time! He keeps us all in check and is such a sensitive sweet soul.

And the 3 year old…. Well where do I start. He his hilarious, makes me laugh every day! I love his passion for food and for life in general!

Although I wasn’t sure about having kids myself because of all the hard work. I am excited to know my own little ones personality too 😊

My baby: her hysterical little giggles. You never know what will set her off but once she gets going it's impossible not to keep doing whatever it is again and again because the giggles are liiiife.

My 4 yo: oh God, it's a rocky road with her right now the poor darling, we bicker from morning to night. But I just love the bones of her. I love her brilliant memory, her offside way of thinking and putting things together in her head. I love that she loves me even though I'm a pretty shitty mummy these days. Her big heart 😭

DS (6) loves nothing more than a cuddle, and thinks I am absolutely the coolest funniest person in the world. DD (8) is curious & enthousiastic about everything, and is a lovely, kind friend

Oh @peachgreen if I could hug you right now I would ❤️ god bless you and your little Angel x

My five year old DS is like a sponge and he will come out with the most incredible facts. He's discovered a love of reading and asks to read to me. He is kind and loving. I love when he talks to his baby brother with such care and he's slowly getting used to life after lockdown. Like he has hope that things won't disappear again and he's finally allowing himself to enjoy things again.

My nearly 2 year old is the funniest, happiest little boy I've ever met. He finds joy in everything. I've never known anything like it. I love the way he shouts out "YAAAYYY" when he sees me get his bowl out of the drawer and pulls a chair up to the table. I love the way he waddles past groups of kids that most adults would find intimidating and shouts out "HIYA" and "BBYYYEEEE" because he just wants to be mates with everybody.

@burritofan

My two year old’s phrases: “better get cracking!” “How bout this for an idea.” “Maybe I have one more then you stop being so naughty and saying no.”

When she shouts “Cuddles! Hooray!” and hooks her arms around my neck.

Her boundless enthusiasm for and joy in everything, and abiding sense of self-belief.

Two year old phrases are the best. I really miss those days, make sure you’re writing down the best ones! I’ve just had a read back through the ones I have written down. I wish I’d kept more.

There are so many things about them that I love but, despite their totally different personalities, my 3 all have a cracking sense of humour.

What a lovely thread!

My daughter is nearly 5. I love her humour, she is so funny, and sassy with it. She is very thoughtful and affectionate, bright and chatty. I love it when she properly snuggles me like she did when she napped as a toddler. ❤

When I hear DS12 and his friends crying with laughter on the Xbox. His strong moral compass and the way he cares about everyone and everything. The way he plays along when I'm being silly, inventing a whole 'other life' for the cat or a spider on the wall or something.

DS1 is 22 and the kindest and most considerate person I know. We've had our battles but he's bloody amazing. DS2 is 21. He's cut me off and is NC. No idea why. But I'm so very proud that I'm mum to both of them, I'm blessed to to call them my sons.

My eldest is 28. I love how she has grown into a brilliant mum and that she still makes time to speak to me most days. She has overcome a lot and is such a strong person, I'm so proud of her.

Dd2 is 13, she is the kindest person I know, she has such a beautiful smile and sings all of the time.

Ds is 11 and gives the best hugs, he lives to be hugged. he's such a joy, funny, confident, clever and a talented musician.

I love how much they love each other most though I think. Ds has just started secondary school and every day him and Dd2 get the bus together, find each other at break even though she is 2 years above him. They always have each others backs and spend a lot of time doing stuff together.

My four year old is daft and hilarious. He's hard work - 4 seems to be a difficult age for some reason - but even when he throws a strip we can't help but laugh. He's so dramatic, like a tiny little teenager! He just randomly breaks into dance even out in public, he dances his way through life. He always forgives me when I've been grumpy, which is frequently, like when he messes about in the bath and I scold him for flooding the bath room! And he is so sweet and loves kisses and cuddles and he is adorable with his baby sister.

10 week old is such a sweet gorgeous baby with such a big beaming smile. I love the way she waves her little arms around like a puppet with such a serious expression!

My son (2) is so gentle & loving. We have 2 tiny chihuahuas and he pets then so gently whilst saying "ahhh" he's so funny

My teenager still seems to like me, she can be so kind and gentle (when she's not in a strop with everyone) She adores animals