Communicating love through actions

Do you love your child?

I'm sure you do.

The question is, does your child feel loved? Saying "I love you" may not be enough. It is better to show that we love our children, as well, through our actions. Consider this story: A child accidentally broke a vase. The mother was very upset. After a few minutes of screaming and yelling, the child asked her "If I broke my leg, would you be that upset?" You don't want your child to believe that the vase is more important than him. A better way to approach this scenario is to focus on safety first and ask the child "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" or say "Be careful there are pieces of glass all over the floor." and then focus on cleaning it up together.

Later, you can problem solve with your child and decide together what needs to be done. Maybe he can fix the vase, buy a new one (from his allowance), or agree on how to prevent it in the future. Remember to send the message of love through actions and not just words.