Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Unconditional love

I believe as a parent we should provide our children with unconditional love. I cringe when I hear parents/grandparents say things like "I won't love you if you do XXX or not do YYY." I told myself not only will we NEVER say such a thing to our children, we should constantly tell them how much we love them. As a mother, there are definitely times when I lose my temper at my children. There are times when punishment are necessary as a method of discipline. However, I want my children to know that even during such times, I still love them.

With Laetitia, I usually tell her that I love her. We say that to her all the time. We also let her know that we, her parents, love each other. I think the best way to teach a child to love is to live it. Recently I got around to talking to Laetitia about how much and the extend to which I love her. We were playing together when I took her on my lap, put my arms around her and told her that I love her very much. I also told her that when she is naughty, it makes me angry and sad but I still love her. I said that even when I punish her, I still love her and when she does not listen to me, I still love her etc. And of course she normally replies by telling me that she loves me too.

Well, last night, while Etienne was with her, she told him, "Papa, I love you even when you are upset with me." :-) I guess she is getting the idea! I hope we'll never hear a "I hate you" from our children even when they do not get their way, especially when they become teenagers. It's now that we lay the foundation.

1 comment:

zammy yammy said...

such a beautiful entry and something I would teach my girls too. :)