How do you spoil your kids with love? A handwritten note, a favorite meal, a weekend trip to the indoor play place, letting them watch whatever they want on TV, these are all good ideas beyond the box of conversation hearts.
I thought I’d work on a big list of ideas, but I kept coming back to one thing in my mind: pay attention.
The best way to spoil your kids with love is to slow down and pay attention to them. I am guilty of focusing on cooking and cleaning my messy house and not really listening, or thinking about a problem at work while my son is talking to me, but I am working on slowing down and focusing my energy.
Use the symbol of a heart as a reminder all year. When you see a heart, bring your thoughts to your kids, and ask yourself, am I doing everything I can? Think back to when you were a kid. Can you remember talking to the grownups and feeling that they weren’t really listening? Remember how small that made you feel? Don’t make your kids feel small. Take a minute to stop what you are doing, sit with them, ask how their day was, and really listen. Don’t interrupt, don’t watch TV, really look at them while they are talking. Ask their opinion about what’s going on in the world. Kids are smarter than you think, and they have great ideas. This doesn’t mean you stop doing everything else, but make a goal every day to have at least one quiet, attention-paying moment with your kids.
I don’t think kids need stuff to be happy, in fact, I think too much stuff just complicates things. What they really want is the same as what we all want, they want to feel valued, and the best way to value them is to focus 100% of your energy on them when you are talking with them.
