Our children are our most important legacy to the world. However, our love is our most important legacy to our children. Here are seven ways to show love that will help children build sturdy foundations for the future.
1. Spend Time with Your Children.
Time is the most loving gift we can give to our children. It allows for the mutual exchange of ideas, emotions, actions, and words that help our children develop and learn to communicate.
Enjoy a toddler's tea parties as well as a teen's ball games. Help your children build things and create art. Begin new family traditions that you can enjoy together each year. Ample time spent in mutually enjoyable activities will create memories you will always treasure.
2. Be the Primary Role Model for Your Children.
Children need examples to follow. Teach practical values to your children by modeling those values. Admit when you have made a mistake and apologize. Model being committed to the ideals you embrace. Demonstrate the advantage of integrity over peer pressure.
We teach and influence children more through actions than words. We are our children's first heroes; the ideals that we live today are the ideals that will influence our children throughout life.
3. Listen to Your Children.
A child's message is one of his or her most essential gifts. We build self-esteem in children when we show interest in what they have to say. Children need to communicate their pride of accomplishment as well as their needs.
Get down at eye level with very young children and listen with your eyes, ears, and heart. Listen most of all to the feelings conveyed through a child's eyes and expressions. If you listen to your children deeply, they will grow up listening deeply to you.
4. Provide Your Children with Loving Discipline.
Children need guidelines and safe boundaries without being constrained unnecessarily. They need to learn the value of being accountable for their choices and actions.
Let your children know that you disapprove of hurtful actions but will always love them as sons and daughters. Loving discipline enables them to recognize the best in other people. It allows children the freedom to explore the world safely and reach their highest potential.
5. Give Your Children Encouragement.
Encouraging words are powerful emotional deposits of confidence and self-esteem. Verbally acknowledge your children's special talents and accomplishments. Catch your children doing something great, and tell them what a great job they have done.
Children need to know that we recognize and support their hopes and dreams for the future. Encouraging children to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually provides the foundation for living a balanced life.
6. Share Your Experiences with Your Children.
We each have valuable stories to tell, unique maps of our journey through life. These stories tell how our reactions to events created the life we are living now. Sharing the benefit of your experiences - the roadblocks and rewards - is a very loving way to guide your children.
Your children may face many of the situations you faced. Your experiences can help them make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary mistakes. Among the most worthwhile possessions that we can someday leave for our children are journals filled with the stories that shaped our lives.
7. Love and Support Your Children Unconditionally.
Love is an unconditional gift from the heart; it is not a reward for good behavior. Let your children know that you will love and support them in any situation. This message creates a sturdy bond of trust. Your children will grow to feel safe in coming to you with any problem they face.
Children need the freedom to make decisions, try new things, and learn that life requires personal responsibility and persistence. They need the freedom to fail and learn from mistakes without being judged. Unconditional love helps them to acquire the decisiveness and resiliency required to become successful.
If you could sum up all of our children's needs, hopes, and expectations in one word, that word would be love. We share love when we play a central role in our children's world of learning and discovery. Our legacy of love will have a guiding influence upon our children and grandchildren for many generations.
© Copyright by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com
disinfecting cleaning services Arlington Heights ..Ah, potty training! Go to a local bookseller and you... Read More
"Not another meeting!"That tends to be the reaction from many... Read More
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine,... Read More
Frankly, as a single parent of young children, I struggled.... Read More
Levels of SafetyBy teaching our children there are different levels... Read More
I hear from many parents that their child is stressed... Read More
Most day cares are non-profit organizations that must operate within... Read More
Grandparents, what better way to stay close to your grown... Read More
When a parent is deployed with the military it can... Read More
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at... Read More
Here are some things that you can do to help... Read More
Wooden toys are one of the best alternatives for the... Read More
Gift shops are a kid magnet and often a trip... Read More
Creating and making special memories with your child is very... Read More
Mommy (Daddy), Why do those people want to hurt everyone?Last... Read More
Do you really want your child to enjoy playing with... Read More
Parents are in a unique position to "monitor" their children's... Read More
Many research studies have shown the overall effectiveness of stimulant... Read More
Q. My daughter is a junior in high school and... Read More
Travel is a common theme in my life -- probably... Read More
'Whose room is it anyway?'If you have a teenager, you're... Read More
? Let the child choose his or her own lunch... Read More
Every year over one million parents have to talk to... Read More
'And all because of a damned cat! It's only a... Read More
Even as a busy parent, I'm sure you've seen a... Read More
bathroom cleaning service Mundelein ..Pool safety should be on the minds of every parent... Read More
Dear Camille,As I thumb through the photographs that I carry... Read More
What exactly makes safety glasses different from regular glasses? There... Read More
Anyone can become a parent; there are no tests or... Read More
My oldest boy is fifteen and was a real jerk... Read More
Nanny 911 Interview with Montel WilliamsI saw an interview with... Read More
We are all aware of the child obesity epidemic that... Read More
Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and... Read More
My thirteen-year-old daughter recently called me up to say she... Read More
Q. I don't like my children spending so much time... Read More
There are some grounds to assume that a cognitive dissonance... Read More
Researchers have estimated that 25-35% of children in the United... Read More
Article based on a friend's experienceI just wanted to share... Read More
Most of us really don't like it when someone is... Read More
Every children in the world whishes to have toys and... Read More
While youth gangs are nothing new -- they've been traced... Read More
Grandparents, what better way to stay close to your grown... Read More
Parents of teenagers frequently ask what can be done to... Read More
Ah, there is nothing like being an expectant mom. Along... Read More
Adderall is a stimulant medication used in the treatment of... Read More
My kids ask me all the time to take them... Read More
If there are any parents reading this who are thinking... Read More
Working with adults (as well as children and teens) for... Read More
More and more kids these days are diagnosed ADD, ADHD,... Read More
1 - Forgive even if you will never be able... Read More
Parenting |