When we acknowledge a child’s feelings, we do him a great service. We put him in touch with his inner reality. And once he’s clear about that reality, he gathers the strength to begin to cope.
When we give children advice or instant solutions, we deprive them of the experience that comes from wrestling with their own problems.
I was a wonderful parent before I had children. I was an expert on why everyone else was having problems with theirs. Then I had three of my own.
I was a wonderful parent before I had children.
The attitude behind your words is as important as the words themselves.
Children don’t need to have their feelings agreed with; they need to have them acknowledged.
Sometimes just having someone understand how much you want something makes reality easier to bear. So.
It’s a bittersweet road we parents travel. We start with total commitment to a small, helpless human being. Over the years we worry, plan, comfort, and try to understand. We give our love, our labor, our knowledge, and our experience – so that one day he or she will have the inner strength and confidence to leave us.