NWR: Thank you notes for kids

Knottie48804623

I just thought of this and wondered what you guys thought. If someone gets a gift for your kid (who is too young to write thank you notes themselves yet), should you write a thank you note "for them?" Or just wait until they are old enough to write to start?

Blue_Bird

Write the thank you note, of course. If the child is old enough to hold a crayon, he can color a little picture for it. They don't need to be writing to learn about writing thank you notes.

lovegood90

I think you should write the note for them. I recently gave a gift for a child's first birthday and one of the parents wrote the note, for example.

Since the gift is for your kid, you (general you) should do the thanking until they're old enough to understand IMHO.

ETA: I don't know the technical "etiquette rule" for this situation so this is just my opinion as it makes the most sense to me.

ILoveBeachMusic

I agree with PPs. When my children were young, I wrote the notes for them and traced their hands or had them make a little drawing or something on the card. That way they knew I was writing a note for a gift. Thank you notes are a big deal for me. I hope they still write them now that they are adults, but I have no control over that now!

Jen4948

Write the note yourself and sign your own name to it. Don't sign the kid's or word it as though the kid is sending it.

My SIL and cousin signed their kids' names for gifts and used wording that suggested that their kids were writing the notes for gifts given to them before the kids were able to write their own thank-you notes, and it came off as "cutesy" and cheesy rather than sincerely grateful. I didn't enjoy the "cutesiness."

But I disagree with tracing their hands or having them scribble on it. When they're old enough to write their own notes, (they can start learning how as soon as they can start learning how to write), just teach them how to do it instead of having them do "cute" gestures when they are not. As a recipient, I do not find hand tracings or scribbles by kids who don't know what they mean to be "cute" or "meaningful."

AddieCake

I think you should write one, but I have yet to ever receive any.