I also love the way my children love me. There's something so sweet and innocent about their love. They love whole-heartedly and they don't hold on to grudges. They are so forgiving and every day, they have a new filled-up tank of love ready to pour out on you. I am blessed to be a mom!
What I'm learning through my kids is that they have different love languages. Emmanuel, my 8 year old, loves Words of Affirmation. I can tell him that I'm proud of him and compliment him and he will get tears in his eyes because it means so much to him. At the same time, I know the power that negative words have on him and I can hurt him deeply if I say something out of anger at him. Because I know these things about him, I try very hard to positively reinforce him with my words. I think another love language for him may be Quality Time. Emmanuel loves to play Uno or Dominoes or read a book together. He loves to snuggle and spend time together. We don't even have to do anything big. He just wants his time with me.
Gabriel, my 1 1/2 year old, loves Physical Touch. He is our hugger. He loves to be close to me, to the point that when I'm in the kitchen cooking, he will just grab onto my legs and just stay with me the entire time. He also will play with my hair to soothe himself before going to bed or when he's tired. Gabe wants a hug all of the time from me, Daddy, and his big brother. And he's so sweet about it that you just can't help but to want to hug him right back!
It's become important to me over the years that I learn how to love people - my husband, my children, my friends and family - in a way that is meaningful to them. Sometimes, I clean Emmanuel's room and expect him to come home and say "Wow, Mom! You're the best and I love you right back!" :) But in reality, I don't think he cares if his room is cleaned by me or not. I don't think it matters if dinner is restaurant quality. All he wants is my time and my positive words. That means so much more to him.
With it being a month of love and affection, I encourage you to find out how to love your child in a way that is meaningful and relevant to them. You can take the 5 Love Languages Survey with your child to learn more about how to love them and talk about the differences in the way you want to be loved versus the way they want to be loved. And if you're married and haven't done this with your spouse, give it a try. It can make a huge difference in your relationships!
God bless you and enjoy loving your children to the fullest!
Come back and let us know how this worked out for you:
Have you tried this survey with your children yet? If so, how has it helped your relationship with them?
1 comment :
I loved this posted and did it with the kids. It gave me some great insight about them.
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