As I hear stories of raging fathers, cold mothers, and emotionally shut down families, I find myself wondering if we, as parents, have any idea how precious our children are? It’s so easy to allow the every day stressors of life to get in the way of treating our children as precious.
Our own histories also get in the way.
We deserved to be treated as precious by our parents. We deserved to be loved unconditionally, cherished with all our imperfections, and guided with moderate, healthy limits. If we didn’t get this, chances are we will struggle to give it to our own children…and they deserve this just as we did.
We owe it to ourselves and our families to be healthy enough to love, nurture, and cherish our children–even if we never recieved this kind of parenting ourselves. Children are curious, authentic, precious gifts; it’s our job to treat them as such.
Challenge: Take a moment to assess your parenting. Children need love, nurturing and guidance; how are you doing in these areas? If you struggle with cherishing your children, then give them the biggest gift possible–seek help and get healthier yourself. You will feel better and so will your family.