WOW, it is just a matter of time and circumstance. The messages have to keep coming. I can remember a conference I went to a very long time ago, maybe 10 years ago where At-Risk kids were speaking. One child said “never stop telling our kids you love them, they need to hear it no matter what they tell you”, another kids said “Never stop asking your kid what their doing, who their friends are, how their doing, they need to know your interested”.
This was advice from the kids themselves. They said, this is what got them through their worst moments. The worst thing a kid can go through is the thought that their family and most important their parents gave up on them or they feel about them as the child imagines they do. Never ever let their thoughts become reality to them. Keep fighting their negative thoughts about themselves. They want control so let them have some, but never stop showing you care and never stop showing your love. It will reach them when they need it most and when they are at their most vulnerable and have no where else to turn. It will envelope them when they need the warmth that only you can provide.
This is where the notes come in. They may seem to tune out the voices, but they might choose to take the notes with them an read and reread them at the lowest points they go through.