Me and DP are both very affectionate towards DS (nearly 18 months), play with him lots, both spend a lot of time with him, read with him, talk to him, lots of cuddles, kisses, etc. But we never tell him we love him. My parents have never said it to me either - I know they do love me from their actions, they've just never said the words, I think they're just quite reserved about showing their emotions. I think DP's parents are similar.
I've always been quite shy and not confident in myself and don't want DS to be like this. But I find it very difficult to express emotions in words IYKWIM. I tried to tell him I love him this morning before he went to nursery because I've been thinking about it a lot but I felt really self-conscious saying it and DP looked at me oddly because it was unusual for me. I see people who say 'love you' almost routinely whenever they come off the phone to their mum or whoever and it just seems so natural, so why do I have such a problem with it?
I love DS and DP to bits and want to be able to tell them - does anyone have similar experience or am I just odd?