Photo credit: Wikipedia
“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.” ~ C. B. Kelland
“Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” – Ruth E. Renkel
I’m not sure who’s having more fun… and who’s more perplexed by the situation.
(Kids in Children’s Costumes. Photo credit: epSos.de)
We all love our children and want to do what is right for them. There are lots of different ideas of what love is and how best to show it.
Parents try to make life ‘easier than we had it.’ We buy ‘stuff.’ We stretch our budgets to provide special ‘treats’ — sometimes even very expensive treats like designer clothing, computers and iPhones.
Or we let them do what they want: watching TV and playing video games to their hearts’ content. Making sure they take the summer off instead of getting a job after a year’s work at school.
We want to make our children happy and often we try to do that by taking away limits… doing anything in our power to remove any obstacles between our children and their happiness. Like so many good intentions, this doesn’t always bring about the results we are looking for.
What if love means following through, day after day, on the lessons you are trying to teach your child? Showing up. Being present. Setting a good example. Putting down the electronics and connecting.
Spending time with your children and paying attention will produce lots of quality moments.
