YOUR GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY
WHEN YOU HAVE A CHILD, A HIGH LEVEL OF SELF-DISCIPLINE IS ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO FULFILL YOUR COMMITMENT AND DELIVER ON YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. THE DAY YOUR FIRST CHILD IS BORN, YOU HAVE TAKEN ON A MINIMUM TWENTY-YEAR COMMITMENT TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO RAISE YOUR CHILD AS A HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND SELF-CONFIDENT ADULT.
AT EVERY STAGE OF YOUR CHILD'S LIFE, YOUR WORDS, ACTIONS, NONACTIONS, AND BEHAVIORS ARE SHAPING AND INFLUENCING THAT CHILD AND DETERMINING HOW HE OR SHE WILL TURN OUT AS AN ADULT.
THE GREATEST NEED THAT A CHILD HAS IS FOR AN UNBROKEN FLOW OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE FROM HIS OR HER PARENTS. CHILDREN NEED LOVE ALMOST AS MUCH AS THEY NEED OXYGEN. THE AMOUNT OF LOVE THAT A CHILD RECEIVES, ESPECIALLY IN HIS OR HER FORMATIVE YEARS, IS THE CRITICAL DETERMINANT OF HOW HEALTHY AND HAPPY HE OR SHE BECOMES AS AN ADULT.
HOW CHILDREN SPEEL "LOVE"
HOW DOES A CHILD SPELL "LOVE"? T-I-M-E . CHILDREN DETERMINE HOW VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT THEY ARE AND DEVELOP THEIR SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-WORTH BY MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES SPEND WITH THEM WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR TIME, AND ONCE GONE, YOU CANNOT MAKE IT UP. PERHAPS THE GREATEST REGRET REPORTED BY PARENTS IS THAT "I DIDN'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME WITH MY CHILD WHEN HE OR SHE WAS YOUNG".
WHEN YOU BECOME A PARENT, YOU MUST DISCIPLINE YOURSELF AND ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE SO YOU CAN SPEND AMPLE TIME WITH YOUR CHILD THROUGHOUT HIS OR HER GROWING YEARS. YOU MUST DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO CUT BACK, REDUCE, DOWNSIZE, AND ELIMINATE OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT PREVENT YOU FROM BEING AND EXCELLENT PARENT.
SETTING NEW PRIORITIES'
WHEN YOU GET MARRIED, YOUR LIFE GOES THROUGH A MAJOR SHIFT. YOUR LIFESTYLE CHANGES, AND MANY OF YOUR COMMON ACTIVITIES LOSE THEIR IMPORTANCE AND URGENCY.
WHEN YOUR FIRST CHILD IS BORN, YOUR LIFE SHIFTS AGAIN, IT OFTEN FEELS AS IF THE FIRST STAGE OF A ROCKET, AND YOU ARE NOW ON A DIFFERENT TRAJECTORY IN LIFE. INFACT, IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR COUPLES TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES COMPLETELY WHEN THEIR FIRST CHILD IS BORN. THEY CUT BACK OR DISCONTINUE MANY OF THEIR PREVIOUS SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. THEY STOP DINING AND DRINKING WITH FRIENDS, AND THEY STOP GOING OUT SOCIALLY ON THE WEEKENDS.
THEY BEGIN TO BUILD A DIFFERENT LIFE TOGETHER AROUND THEIR HOME AND CHILDREN. THE CHILDREN BECOME THE FOCUS OF THEIR TIME AND ATTENTION. THE CHILDREN BECOME THE PRIMARY SUBJECT OF THEIR CONVERSATIONS.
RESPONSIBLE PARENTS APPROACH CHILDREARING AS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR LIVES. THEY PLAN AND ORGANIZE THEIR TIME AND ACTIVITIES SO THEY CAN FULLFILL THIS RESPONSIBILITY AT A HIGH LEVEL.
LONG-TERM THINKING
CHILDREN FORCE YOU TO THINK LONG-TERM. WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO OR FAIL DO WITH YOUR CHILDREN IN THEIR FORMATIVE YEARS WILL HAVE A LASTING IMPACT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME, YOU BECOME FAR MORE THOUGHTFUL AND SENSITIVE TO THE THINGS YOU SAY AND THE WAY YOU TREAT THEM.
WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG AND SINGLE, YOU CAN "LET IT ALL HANG OUT". YOU CAN BLOW UP, GET ANGRY, EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS FREELY, AND "BE YOUR OWN PERSON". BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A CHILD, YOU NEED TO IMPORSE A HIGHER LEVEL OF DISCIPLINE AND SELF-CONTROL ON YOURSELF.
CHILDREN ARE HYPERSENSITIVE TO THE INFLUENCE OF THEIR PARENTS DURING THEIR FORMATIVE YEARS. THEY SEE AND EXPERIENCE EACH WORD AND REACTION OF THERI PARENTS, AND THEY INCORPORATE THOSE WORDS AND ACTIONS INTO THEIR WORLD VIEW AND SELF-IMAGE.
IN ALMOST EVERY CASE, WHEN YOU SEE A DYSFUNTIONAL ADULT, YOU CAN TRACE IT BACK TO DYSFUNCTIONAL PARENTING. WHEN THAT DYSFUNCTIONAL ADULT WAS A CHILD, THEIR PARENTS DID OR SAID THINGS TO THEM THAT HURT THEM, CONFUSED THEM, SCARED THEM, AND CREATED WITHIN THEM FEELINGS OF INSECURITY, ANGER, AND INFERIORITY.
THE GREATEST GIFT IS LOVE
THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE CHILDREN IS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU LOVE THEM 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME AND THAT YOUR LOVE FOR THEM NEVER CHANGES, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.
THERE IS NO GREATER BLESSING FOR CHILDREN THAN TO KNOW WITH COMPLETE CONFIDENCE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THEIR LIFE - THEIR PARENTS - LOVE THEM COMPLETELY AND ACCEPT THEM TOTALLY, NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO OR WHAT MISTAKES THEY MAKE.
CHILDREN ARE NOT LITTLE ADULTS. THEY DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE GOOD JUDGMENTS ABOUT THE RIGHT OR WRONG THINGS TO DO. IT TAKES THEM MANY YEARS OF TRIAL AND ERROR AND SOMETIMES BITTER EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP THE WISDOM AND JUDGMENT THAT ENABLE THEM TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FUTURES.
THE KINDEST WAY TO TREAT YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THEY MAKE MISTAKES IS TO BEHAVE WITH CALMNESS AND COMPASSION AND TO HELP THEM LEARN THE LESSONS CONTAINED IN THE PROBLEM OR DIFFICULTY.
