MANDEVILLE, La. — A Louisiana father has written hundreds of lunch box notes for his daughter to help ease her anxiety at school.
Dr. Chris Yandle has been slipping the inspirational notes into Addison Yandle’s book bag or lunch box since she started fourth grade in 2017.
Chris says it was his daughter’s fourth school in five years. The family had recently moved to Louisiana after the dad lost his job in Georgia.
During that time, Chris told People Magazine that Addison appeared more reserved than normal, and they later discovered she was being bullied by a supposed friend.
Chris wanted to help Addison in any way he could, so he wrote his first note that read: “Be nice to others. Not everyone will look like you. Learn to spot the unique and special things in other people. You have the power to change someone's life.”
He continued to give her the handwritten notes and began posting them on social media using the hashtag #DadLunchNotes. Before he knew it, he grew a following of people eager to see what each note said.
“While I knew others enjoyed the daily life lessons I penned in Sharpie, I wanted to stay true to my intended purpose-being there for my daughter and helping guide her through this difficult school year,” wrote Chris on his website.
In 2018, Chris even published a book titled “Lucky Enough.” In the book, he compiled a year’s worth of his notes of encouragement and life lessons.
Addison is now headed into 8th grade and Chris has no plans to stop the notes. He told Southern Living that he will continue to write his daughter notes throughout high school and even into college, whether she likes it or not.
Chris says he also plans to start writing his son, Jackson, notes as starts attending middle school.
