Developmental Affirmations are positive messages that support health and growth. They can be given from one person to another, or they can be given to you by yourself. Developmental Affirmations are specifically worded messages designed to support:

1. The learning of tasks that are important for the development of each specific age group in order to build capability, confidence, and resilience at every age.
2. Making healthy life decisions throughout the life span.

They can be given in any form, including spoken, facial and body expressions, touch, tone of voice, and/or body posture.

The goal of the Affirmation Project is to identify easily understood, quotable, positive, respectful, invitational messages to support growth at each stage of life.

You can know what you need and ask for help.
Thinking — Stage 3

DIGGING DEEPER: a bird’s eye view of the Developmental Affirmations

The Developmental Affirmations include permissions to grow, reminders of inborn capabilities, and assertions of love and support. For each developmental stage, the affirmations focus on jobs and attitudes that are central to growth at that age. The exact words are bare bone messages that can be used as stated or can be shaped to fit the situation. You may think of them as a platform on which you can turn words into actions. The developmental stages are described in Question 17: What are the developmental stages of growing up? These stages are based on Eric Erikson’s theories about the stages of growth.