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
post construction cleaning Deerfield ..Children and teenagers are relentlessly bombarded with merchandise that entices.... Read More
One of the basic issues we need to understand is... Read More
Life is comprised of pieces of time sprinkled with pivotal... Read More
Most of us when asked what we want our children... Read More
Is your babysitter watching the kids and your k9 family... Read More
? Let the child choose his or her own lunch... Read More
For any parent, learning that a convicted sex offender lives... Read More
As with everything, names go through cycles of change with... Read More
Are you looking for the Ultimate Airplane Themed Party Games... Read More
Advocate: you've probably heard the term before. But what does... Read More
Whenever parents discuss how to deal with bed wetting, the... Read More
This article on parenting is by a practicing relationship counsellor/therapist,... Read More
An apology is a sign of strength, not weakness. Sometimes... Read More
When planning a child birthday party, just a little bit... Read More
There are a lot of sophisticated parenting theories and techniques... Read More
Here is an easy, inexpensive and fun kid experiment for... Read More
Vinegar or honey, what do kids really want? "Toys, candy,... Read More
Joey steps away from his time out chair "I won't... Read More
When a parent is deployed with the military it can... Read More
It may seem obvious to many people why literacy is... Read More
Many children who suffer from the psychological effects of child... Read More
All babies cry, but if yours cries a lot, isn't... Read More
MYTH: All teens have to rebel, and the teen years... Read More
Do you remember how you first learned the alphabet? I... Read More
Being a single mother is no easy task. I know.... Read More
Airbnb cleaning service Bannockburn ..There are many reasons for treating your twins as individuals... Read More
Certainly we all want our children to excel. But it... Read More
The subject of competition is one that provokes some pretty... Read More
You are sitting with the professionals who know about learning... Read More
Like anything else in life, there's a method to the... Read More
Do you praise your child when he fulfils a basic... Read More
Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part... Read More
There are only two ways to get more money:1) Increase... Read More
I hear from many parents that their child is stressed... Read More
It's sometimes difficult to find ways to be involved with... Read More
Imagine having no television for an entire season. Such was... Read More
Home-schooling removes children from public school. That alone makes home-schooling... Read More
The Greatest Gifts in Life, which are always created for... Read More
You have just received a call from your child's teacher... Read More
As with everything, names go through cycles of change with... Read More
Once the newness has worn off a little, you will... Read More
In an actual war, to be attacked means to have... Read More
While on a recent trip to the grocery store, I... Read More
As parents, we love our children and want to do... Read More
Late vs. Too LateEvery now and then, I'll hear a... Read More
You are at the grocery store with your daughter and... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
Q. With another school year starting, we are not sure... Read More
Childhood friendships are as special as they are a necessary... Read More
Ritalin has been shown through the years to be very... Read More
Parenting |