Welcome back to my series on Remember For Life. If you missed Day One, you can read it here. This series started from a story that I heard on a radio station that I listen to. It resinated with me because these are things that Becky and I try to teach our own kids. We want to inspire them to be great and DO great things for others.
With that in mind, I bring you Day 2: Giving them Attention and Commitment.
Do you remember all of the times that you gave them ALL of your attention? That you committed to something and stuck with it for them? I recently mentioned this in my post this week on “Why You Need to Notice Your Kids.” and so many of you e-mailed me telling me how you agreed. It made me think that I guess we are all in this together.
I heard our pastor speaking about giving your kids your full focus and attention earlier this week and it is so true. We think that our kids are so resilient that they don’t notice when WE don’t notice. Or that they will run off and play if we aren’t engaged in what they are doing. It just isn’t fair to them (or to you) to not be paying attention to them when they need you.
Your kids deserve your attention just like any other person. Actually, they deserve it more and it can be a struggle. Remember, as parents we are their 1st teachers. If we want them to listen to others, then we have to show them that we can listen to them. Not just hear them, but actually listen to them with 100% of your undivided attention.
The next time that your kids run into the room excited to show you something or tell you something, stop everything, get down to their level, look into their eyes and listen. You will be amazed at how well they respond and at how good you feel afterwards. Simple bonding times like this are imperative to a good relationship down the road.
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