I am going to begin with an intro to this parenting blog and then introduce you to the twelve ways to LOVE YOUR KIDS. I began this journey over 13 years ago and have tried to adhere to the values and principles put forth in the raising of my son and the work I do with foster children. I am a single mom and my son, now 16 is growing into a wonderful young man. He just received his Eagle Scout (and for those who do not know, only 1-2% of scouts reach this level) Yes, I am a very proud Mama. But more importantly, my son, at 16 is kind, strong minded, (we’re working on the open minded part, but hey, at 16 how many kids are open minded about anything). He has a moral compass; he is polite, helps around the house and is respectful to his mother more often than not. We have a good time just hanging out, have some fights but always come out of them with a stronger bond than one could imagine. I have to say he is smarter than me and just like me, so those fights at times are like arguing with myself, but he is better at than me. But we have great talks too; about life, love, sex, drugs and yeah, I’m going to say it, Rock n Roll. When your kid is listening to same music you did in high school how could you not have this conversation. Maybe that is why, by chance the first letter in LOVE YOUR KIDS stands for Listen. If there is one thing I know for sure is there is not enough listening going on in this world. Oh, we hear a lot, but we don’t listen very well. But I digress, that lesson will come soon enough.
So, where were we? Ah, children, your children, this blog and why you need to read it. Love your kids; seems simple doesn't it? It’s the reason you had kids in the first place isn’t it. Ok, in a perfect world, perhaps, but no matter how we become parents, we want to do it right, not make the mistakes our parents made. We want to love them and hug them and make them our own. But we forget that, just as puppies grow noses, kids grow attitudes and become opinionated individuals when you least expect it and at the most inconvenient of times.
Love Your Kids is a back to basic approach to parenting and taking care of yourself in the process. You will find that your kids, overall will be much more enjoyable to be around and your own life will not have fallen off the map in order to sacrifice your life for theirs. You can have it all, but it requires a little forethought and effort on your part, but the outcome is well worth it. Remember, some day, your children may be taking care of you. You want to have confidence in their abilities don't you?