Monday Meanderings: Why You Need to Show a Child You Care

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A healthy lifestyle is much more than a diet and exercise program. It encompasses just about everything we do -- and that includes how we raise our children.

I have two kids -- Jonathan, 12, and Caelyn, 10 -- but I am by no means an expert on parenting. Lucky for me and you, I do know parenting experts, including Paula Statman, author of Raising Careful Confident Kids in a Crazy World.

Paula says, "A child who feels loved is less likely to look for love in the wrong places... from the wrong people. It's a documented fact that kids who feel loved don't accept affection from just anyone who offers it. They accept it from those who respect them and their boundaries."

Lord knows I try to show my kids that I love them on a daily basis. I do it by praising their schoolwork (thankfully they are good students) and their sports abilities (I coach them basketball). I am also sure to tell them I love them as I visit their rooms before they nod off at night.

Stressing over parenting

Despite all this, I still feel stressed when they ask me to play a game or watch a movie with them and I do not feel I can share time with them at that moment. I fear that they will one day remember me as the guy who was always too busy for them.

I know that's silly because I do do a lot with them, but it still stresses me.

I am a very lucky guy. Not only do I get to write about my life for a living, but I get to work from home and the kids and I have a great woman here to help keep the home standing and us fed and clothed.

I hope my kids know how lucky there are. Mom and dad usually walk them to the bus stop and wait with them until the bus arrives. And we are there when they come home after school.

And even though my son is now to shy about kissing dad goodbye at the bus stop, he wll do it here inside our front door before we head out. My daughter has no problem giving dad a big kissing before bounding onto the bus.

If you aren't taking every opportunity to tell your kid or kids you love them, then please start doing so now. It's never too late to be the best parent you can.

Why is it important?

"Telling our kids we love them every single day-including those days when we question why we became parents-is good insurance," says Paula, who hosts a great website http://www.kidwisecorner.com/.

"It shows them that they are treasured and worth treasuring. It makes them feel cherished and special. And that's how we want them to feel when they go out the door."

Paula has compiled 5 things you can say and 7 things you can do to show your kids you love them. For the lists and to read her great feature, The Best Insurance for Raising Safe and Happy Kids, click here now.

Now go kiss your kids and be sure to check back each week for my Monday Meanderings, exclusively here at the Diet-to-Go blog section.


Author: John McGran

Archived posts 2010

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