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
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..Here's a scene: A parent "might suddenly grab a happliy... Read More
In the last few years, parents started getting more and... Read More
Vacations are fun ! Weekends with the family are nice.... Read More
What parents of a teen haven't wondered where their sweet... Read More
In an actual war, to be attacked means to have... Read More
In the news, we hear and see an increasing number... Read More
There are moments in a parent's or grandparent's life, when... Read More
The teenage years are a crucial time in a child's... Read More
Past experience with federal education programs predicts that the No... Read More
Julia Roberts recently gave birth to twins: Hazel and Phinnaeus.... Read More
For many years underparenting was perhaps the biggest problem facing... Read More
What exactly makes safety glasses different from regular glasses? There... Read More
Quite simply, an absolute nightmare for parents and babies alike,... Read More
Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate... Read More
From the time the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in... Read More
Q. What is the best way to teach safety awareness... Read More
One of the few decisions you'll make during pregnancy that... Read More
Like anything else in life, there's a method to the... Read More
It may seem obvious to many people why literacy is... Read More
Last night Tom's daughter, Sue, came out of her room... Read More
I have always found the notion of toilet training a... Read More
We take it for granted that children know how money... Read More
Anyone can become a parent; there are no tests or... Read More
Nurture and TeachThe single most important thing caregivers can do... Read More
Research published by University of Rochester neuroscientists C. Shawn Green... Read More
tidy up service Arlington Heights ..Compulsory attendance laws are school authorities' first assault on parental... Read More
In today's fast-paced society, many families depend on some form... Read More
1 - Forgive even if you will never be able... Read More
"Hugging is healthy: it helps the body's immunity system, it... Read More
Is your baby approaching his or her first birthday and... Read More
You want your daughter to wear a dress to the... Read More
Do you want to create a deeper, more loving relationship... Read More
So you want to be a mum? Every time you... Read More
Children explore the world around them and learn through pretend... Read More
Since so many would rather avoid the use of stimulant... Read More
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at... Read More
I could nearly fund my children's future education if I... Read More
Choosing a baby name is an important job, so make... Read More
Our back-to-school buying habits do not help kids succeed in... Read More
Chaim Ginott was a schoolteacher whose ideas and observations helped... Read More
When our oldest son was 2, my wife went out... Read More
Sometimes dreams really can come true! May 8th - 11th,... Read More
LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
Boredom, limited space and overflowing energy are a source of... Read More
There are many things to like about the television show... Read More
At the ADHD Information Library we are big believers that... Read More
"Family Matters" was the headline that caught my attention in... Read More
Whenever parents discuss how to deal with bed wetting, the... Read More
Q: My husband and I are at a loss as... Read More
"There is nothing new under the sun," states Ecclesiastes 1:9.... Read More
Parenting |