Five Essential Gifts to Give to Your Children
Childhood is a crucial stage in our development. It’s the moment in which we lay down the foundations of our personality and our way of understanding the world. Therefore, as a parent, your actions can have a greater impact on your children than you might think. In fact, giving them a conscious and respectful upbringing is the greatest gift you can give them.
However, in the midst of the whirlwind of stress and daily obligations, it’s easy to forget the importance of your small actions in their lives. For this reason, we suggest five gifts that you can give to your children so that they become happy and emotionally healthy people.
Five essential gifts to give your children
Attention
When your children are young, you, as their parents are their greatest role model. As a matter of fact, your attention is one of the most powerful reinforcers that exist for them. Therefore, be aware of how you use it.
Many times, your children behave inappropriately because it’s the only way they know to get your attention. That’s because, as long as they behave well, you tend to ignore them as you have so many other things to take care of. On the other hand, when they perform inappropriate behavior, you direct all your energy towards them, even if it’s only to scold them.
Therefore, make sure you attend to your children, meet their needs, and listen to their ideas. Give them your attention whenever possible, and do it simply because you love them and enjoy spending time with them.
Unconditional love
Unconditional love forms the basis of correct emotional development. Sometimes, your children behave inappropriately and it’s your duty to let them know that this isn’t right. However, it’s extremely important that you differentiate between them and their behavior. For example, it’s not the same to tell them that they’re behaving badly as telling them that they’re ‘bad’.
It’s imperative that they know that they’re loved and accepted unconditionally by you, as their parent. Furthermore, to know that you’ll never withdraw your affection, despite their mistakes, tantrums, or bad behavior. Therefore, you must be really careful with labels like ‘disobedient’. Judge their specific behaviors, not themselves.
Being there
Whatever your personal circumstances, it’s important that you’re there for your children. Nevertheless, this isn’t simply about being in the same house. Presence implies dedicating your five senses to your child, listening to their concerns, talking, supporting them, and being a refuge for them.
Perhaps work prevents you from spending as much time with your children as you’d like. If this is the case, make sure that the moments you do spend with them are of quality, and that you use them to connect and strengthen your relationship. Find moments to be alone with them when you give them your full attention and it’ll be enough. Children perceive when they’re loved and valued despite a lack of time.
Respect
This is one of the most relevant and most forgotten aspects in the education of children. Treating them with respect implies understanding that they’re not your property and that they’re not inferior. In fact, you must give them the same consideration that you’d offer an adult. Yelling, physical violence, or insults are intolerable and totally unnecessary.
Children deserve to be treated with dignity. They also deserve that their opinions be taken into account and that their voices be heard. They’re entitled to be able to develop freely, based on their own personality. Indeed, by respecting your child, you teach them to respect themselves and to consider themselves to be valuable and important.
Setting boundaries for a happy childhood
Respect isn’t synonymous with permissiveness. Treating children properly isn’t incompatible with setting boundaries and consequences. These two elements are essential as they provide minors with a sense of security that helps them grow up to be happier. Above all, remember to be consistent when setting the rules and applying the consequences. Even if they find it annoying at the time, they’ll thank you in the future.
These are just some of the many ways in which you can demonstrate your love and dedication as a parent when educating your children. As costly as it may be, putting in the effort during their first years of life will have unimaginable rewards.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- López, G. C. H., & Vesga, M. C. G. (2009). Interacción familiar y desarrollo emocional en niños y niñas. Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, niñez y juventud, 7(2), 785-802.
- Capano, Á., & Ubach, A. (2013). Estilos parentales, parentalidad positiva y formación de padres. Ciencias psicológicas, 7(1), 83-95.
