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Mum draws a ‘hug button’ on her scared son’s hand to help him through his first day at school

A MUM-of-three found a heartwarming way to help her anxious son through his first day of school – by giving him a virtual ‘hug’.

Louise Mallett, 32, from Ipswich, drew a tiny heart on her “littlest baby” Max’s palm, and a matching one on hers.

 Louise came up with an adorable way to make sure her son Max got through his first day at school
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Louise came up with an adorable way to make sure her son Max got through his first day at schoolCredit: Facebook/Louise Mallett
 Louise was praised for her heartwarming idea after she shared photos of her son's 'hug button' to Facebook
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Louise was praised for her heartwarming idea after she shared photos of her son's 'hug button' to FacebookCredit: Facebook/Louise Mallett

She told the worried youngster that by pressing them, they could “send hugs” to each other.

Louise has now shared her sweet idea on ’s page.

“So, my littlest baby had his first all-dayer at school today, having been in for a couple of morning settling in sessions,” she said.

“I could tell he was feeling a little emotional this morning so we had a chat and came up with the idea of having a heart each and if we pressed it, it sent a hug to the other one (he said he cried as he missed me on his first half day last week) it totally worked!

“I drew a heart on both our hands and gave him a spare one on his arm in case the one on his hand wore off, we ‘charged’ them by holding hands on the way to school and when I picked him up I said did you get my hugs and he happily said yep!

“He also said, ‘I pressed it for a long time Mummy but I didn't cry,’ so I said ‘Ahhhh that will be that big squeeze I got, did you get my big squeeze back?’ and he said ‘yep!’”

She added: “Bless him, here's to many more happy days at school while I sit at home with the dog and cry that all my babies are at school now…”

 Louise's post went viral, with mums heaping praise on her for the clever idea
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Louise's post went viral, with mums heaping praise on her for the clever ideaCredit: Facebook/Louise Mallett
 Max, Louise's youngest, was anxious ahead of his first day at school
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Max, Louise's youngest, was anxious ahead of his first day at schoolCredit: Facebook/Louise Mallett
 Little Max ended up getting through his first day at school okay, thanks to his mum's clever idea
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Little Max ended up getting through his first day at school okay, thanks to his mum's clever idea
 Other mums said Louise's idea was 'simple and beautiful' after she shared photos on Facebook
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Other mums said Louise's idea was 'simple and beautiful' after she shared photos on FacebookCredit: Facebook/Louise Mallett

Louise’s post quickly went viral, with dozens of parents praising her “simple and beautiful idea”.

Sophie said: “This is just the cutest thing ever”, while Jenny added: “So lovely! Will definitely be using this.”

Alison wrote: “Tears in my eyes reading this. So sweet. I’m totally stealing the idea!!

 The plan turned out to be a triumph, with Max having a tear-free first day in the end
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The plan turned out to be a triumph, with Max having a tear-free first day in the end
 Louise told her son that they could 'send hugs' to each other by pressing on their hearts
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Louise told her son that they could 'send hugs' to each other by pressing on their hearts

“My daughter starts her pre-school for two mornings a week. Her first settling in day is next Monday. We have been together every day since day one.

“It’s a hard decision to let her go but I know she needs to socialise and meet other children/staff in preparation for nursery in January. I’ll be sobbing my heart out with a G&T.”
Meanwhile, fathers are sharing the hilarious hacks which help them look after their kids.

And, a bizarre new parenting trend urges parents to ask their own babies for consent before picking them up.