Dear Readers,

Now the Developmental Affirmations are yours. I hope you live them creatively and always with love. I hope you expand on them. I hope there will be further studies on their effectiveness. You can use the affirmations in any way that is helpful to you, and as a way to help others. You can share them in the straight-forward way they are written, and for some people that is enough. Others will embed or embellish them to fit the situation. Some people use affirmations to help discover more about the developmental tasks of different ages. Other people explore their depths. Some people use them to help heal old wounds. Some of the wounds come from the situations the world presents. I wonder what the wounds and the new strengths from living through a pandemic will be.

Thank you, dear readers, for joining me on the journey of exploring the Developmental Affirmations.

I hope you enjoyed the story and that you will join it.

Go well, and I wish you a good life.

Jean Illsley Clarke

Jean Illsley Clarke, Ph.D., is a certified family life educator and is a widely known developmental parenting educator. Her many books include: “Self-Esteem: A Family Affair,” “Good Heart Parenting,” co-authored “Growing Up Again: Parenting Ourselves, Parenting Our Children,” and “How Much is Too Much: Raising Likeable, Responsible, Respectful Children — From Toddlers to Teens — In an Age of Overindulgence.” She is a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. She lives in Minnesota.

Appreciations:

If you are among the many people who contributed to the growth of the Developmental Affirmations story, know that you are deeply appreciated. Especially thanks to Connie Dawson for contributing significant ideas, to Carole Gesme for her steadfast support through the years, and to Betty Cook for her attention to the big picture. Thanks to Lisa Krause for her diligent help in getting the Questions and Answers in place. Thank you to Ellie McCann and Mary Jo Katras, University of Minnesota Extension, for their partnership in raising up this work so that it is accessible to parents, caregivers and practitioners all over the world.