During a parenting seminar, parents were asked to think back to our own childhoods and remember someone who really loved us. The leader then asked us what we remembered about how that person showed us their love.
We reported many fond memories including:
- Spent one-on-one time with me
- Played card games together
- Cooked my favorite meal
- Face lit up when I arrived
- Asked questions about how things were going for me
- Sat together and talked
- Baked special cookies with me
- Went on walks in the park together
- Taught me how to knit
She pointed out that not a single one of our responses involved material gifts like iPods, Legos, scooters or televisions. What will our children remember when they look back at their childhood? Probably the same type of things we remember... the special times spent together.
We communicate our love to our children when we choose to spend time with them. It's the things we do together with our children that they will remember the rest of their lives. Long after they have forgotten the very cool toy we bought for their birthday, they will remember the afternoons we spent playing catch in the backyard or baking cookies together.
Challenge yourself to carve out time to do something special with your children. You may want to talk to them about what they would really like to do or you could surprise them. Consider writing this activity on the calendar so that everyone remembers it and something else doesn't accidentally get scheduled. Remember the gifts that will last the longest are the ones where you spend special time together.
Kathy Slattengren is a noted parenting speaker, trainer and founder of Priceless Parenting. Priceless Parenting provides an online parenting class which teaches effective discipline techniques for positively dealing with misbehavior.
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