Watch Nationwide’s ‘Little Things’ film and tell us what you treasure about your DC’s for a chance to win £300 voucher. NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

For many of us, there’s nothing more important than family. Nationwide have launched a new campaign where ordinary people tell us what’s important to them. Here, poet and mum Hollie McNish describes how her family makes her feel in her poem ‘Little Things’.

Nationwide would love you to watch Hollie below and tell them what feelings and memories the poem stirs up about your own family. They’d love to hear about the moments in your own DC’s lives that you will treasure forever.

Here’s what Nationwide has to say: “At Nationwide our members have a voice. For many of us, there's nothing more valuable than family. In this poem, 'Little Things', poet and mum Hollie McNish says it all better than we ever could.”

So, what “little things” about your family will you always treasure? If you were talking to your DC, what would you tell them about the things that they do and how it makes you feel?

Everyone who posts a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

When he knows I'm sad and comes over to give me a cuddle - I can't imagine him doing that when he's a teenager so I treasure it now.

I love how my DC's heads smell.

Love all of these, makes me feel nostalgic.

I most love looking in on them when fast asleep on my way to bed, they look so peaceful and content.

their quirks - they are all amazing but I love their little silly things -
DD1 and her sense of fairness and moral outrage - she writes endless letters to MP's - she is 14
DD2 and her humor - she is so funny and daft and her sense of comic timing is impeccable
DD3 - I really value her kindness towards her friends - she's very generous and loving

Gosh, I miss night feeds.. cuddle and one on time...

I treasure each child's differences and how they all have such big beautiful eyes and smiles that 1 smile can make my whole mood change.

I really treasure holding there hands. My eldest is a teen now and I miss that.

Listening to DD1, who is 5, playing with her baby sister is lovely. I hear her whispering "I love you forever" and my heart melts.

DD1 has been sick today. I asked her if she needed anything and she said "just my warm mummy cuddles".

I love it when she creeps into our bed at night, even though I tell her not to. Snuggling in with her, with the baby next to us, makes me feel like all is well with the world.

Loads of things I cherish about my ds, but one of them is his total belief that I can do anything I put my mind to. Yesterday he spent ages coaching me to do tumble turns in the pool, and his joy when I did it properly with a huge hug made me well up.

When my 3 kids all laugh and joke together - definitely.

I've got a photo of a sunny afternoon when they were all still quite little, and had managed to catch a newt and put it in a big orange bucket with water in - faces all beaming happy smiles

Cocacola you can have some of mine. I have 3-4 going spare per night. Very snuggly baby to accompany them.

My favourite little things are the totally unique and quirky things they come out when about 3. You know although all children come out with funny things, they are unlikely to be exactly the same as another child's. My favourite one from my son when he was 3 and choosing books for bedtime: Mummy: What book do you want Barney?
Barney: Umm...The Enormous Purple....The Enormous Turtle.
Mummy: The Enormous Turnip?
Barney: That's what I said. The Enormous Turn-up.

I'm really glad I wrote some down.

I would have to say the moments I treasure are Breastfeeding both my children because it is amazing to think you are responsible for giving nutrition and comfort. The other thing I treasure the most right now is when my son speaks . He has autism and only says a few words and then stops for months. He said mammy for 8 days and then stopped so I treasue that moment until the next time he is 3 bless him.

Last Christmas my DS (5) really wanted an expensive games console but I couldn't afford it. I explained to him the it was a very expensive thing to ask Father Christmas for and that he should try not to be disappointed if FC wasn't able to deliver it. A few weeks before Xmas I won some Love to Shop vouchers on Mumsnet and was able to buy the gift he wanted. I was so excited waiting for him to open the gift. On Xmas morning he raced straight for this gift as it was the biggest box. He opened it and then just sat there looking at it. He looked up at me and asked "am I dreaming?" I'll carry that image with me forever as it touched me so much and I am so grateful that I was able to give him this most prized gift while he was still old enough to believe in Father Christmas and the magic of Xmas.

Spontaneous 'I love you' s

Loads of big 'squeezes'

Hearing them say 'mummy'

Reading together

Kisses before bedtime

How they look at you when you're breastfeeding them

When you hold them for the first time

one memory i will never forget is watching my 2 year old son hold his brother for the first time, he bend down and kissed him on the head, my partner was lucky enough to catch this moment with a photo that holds so many memories, then we got a lucky chance to do it all again with another little addition a year later, pure joy and excitement and love all in one photo

Her great blue eyes gazing up and out and drinking in the whole world. I loved it best when we were out and about on buses. Even at 6 months old she would work the whole bus, making eye contact with everyone and beaming as they beamed back.

Lovely poem.

That's an incredibly beautiful poem, thank you Holly

For me it's the totally random hugs, guaranteed to make me melt every time. Also the way my children will have their word for something, mispronounced or just they've just made up a totally random word. Their creation, it's like a secret code that only us as a family can crack!
Little things😄

I'll always treasure the memory of my dd meeting her baby brother. The look on her face! I feel a bit gooey just thinking about it.

I'm never very sure of myself, never convinced that I am being a good mother, but every time my DDs draw me, they always draw me with a big smile so I am reassured that they think I'm doing ok.

When I was 20 and my daughter was 3, things were very difficult. I was a full time university student doing a demanding course, she was....well, she was a three year old. It was a long, cold winter and we had very little money.

One day, at the start of March, we took the bus to the nearest swimming pool, twenty miles away. It was closed for renovations. The treat I'd saved for was ruined.

We took our squashed sandwiches and walked to a nature reserve outside of town. I had no buggy, and after we'd fed the seagulls, we started to walk back
My daughter was tired, I was tired, what a day.

I put her on my shoulders, cars whizzing past, feeling tired and poor and useless. She started squealing with joy- in one of those ridiculously clichéd moments, a rainbow had come out, the mizzle had cleared and the sun was splitting the clouds. She grabbed my hair and yelled "race the rainbow, Mummy! Gold at the bottom!"

I started running, galloping, pretending to be a horse, the people commuting home must have thought we were mad. We galloped into the bus station, collapsing with the giggles, and I cuddled her on the bus home, and we had hot chocolate and lots of stories that night. Strangely enough, things started to improve massively after that

That's always stuck in my head though - a perfect snapshot of my daughter, always wanting to go faster, to discover more, enjoying the journey, my brave, golden girl who always sees the bright, good things in the world. I am so lucky to have her, and being her mother is and always has been the best thing to happen to me

lots and lots of things my DS does that make me smile, but when he was a baby he had the most amazing giggle that just made everyone smile - sometimes when he's really happy he still has the same giggle. Always brightens my whole day when it happens

I love the moments in my children's lives when they are so kind to each other. When they save their pennies for each other's Christmas presents. When they make sure that everyone has the same amount of sweets, if one of them is not there then they must saved in about in the kitchen in a bowl next to the kettle. When they draw pictures of us as a family they are so cute. When the little ones are sad or tired the older children can make them happy just as well as I can. They have private jokes and silly names for each other. They know each other's fears 'No hates fireworks. They know each other's favourites - I am crap and forget what flavour ice cream to buy sometimes. When I see the little ones holding each other's hands without me asking them to my heart melts a little.

Definitely those unforgettable, treasured night feeds- when you and them could be the only people in the world. And,as they get older those endless spur of the moment questions which are,often,hysterical!

I love the bedtime story time when I can comfortably snuggle with my DS in his bed or the weekend morning when he comes to my bed in the morning and we watch Cbeebies together

Just the feeling of being needed and being at the centre of your little ones universe. Nothing beats them giving you a hug and kiss for no reason at all.

When my son say I love you mummy without me saying I love you first. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy with a heart bursting with love.