The best gift to give your child is the gift of LOVE.

A so-called 'simple' word can do 1 of 2 things.........

1/. Lift someone up.

or

2/. Pull someone down.

As an adult the 'later' can be an emotional and daunting experience. So when a child is confronted with this form of negativity, through repeated nagging, verbal harassment, abuse or bullying, we shouldn't expect them to “get over it” and move on.

With so many people being raised under the belief, as the old saying went....

“Sticks and Stones may break your bones, But Names will never hurt you”

How many have heard this?

Did you believe it?

How many now agree how wrong this is!!!!!

Wounds from physical abuse, as horrendous as they may be (in some cases) will and do heal over time, but the emotional scars from poisonous WORDS that have been repeatedly pounded into a person's spirit and soul is more dangerous and painful than many can imagine, tearing the person apart deep down to their very core.

Choose your words carefully, remember that we are all humans, we are all equal at the time of our birth, and we will be at the time of our death.

What we experience throughout our lives between those two points in time, can be the reason to either be inspired or to inspire others to achieve so much, or it could be the cause of a person becoming broken and damaged missing out on their life’s calling.

No-one is better than another person, if we were all given equal opportunities imagine how that would change the lives of so many people, in such a big way.

Giving support while guiding someone to learn and experience new and exciting things, seeing the beauty in all that they do; what a lovely gift to give or receive.

Helping others to take new steps, enjoy new pathways, encouraging their abilities.

To never belittle a person for their differing opinions and choices, instead giving them the confidence they need to strive forward, and the freedom to choose their own direction.

Supporting others for no other reason than the satisfaction of seeing them succeed.

To encourage a child in this way is also the ultimate gift any parent can give their child.

A parent's position is to show their child love, to keep them safe and happy, to nurture their growth, and to see them off on their journey to adulthood.

To do this we also have to show them we trust them and believe in their abilities.

No matter how often they can get on our nerves or irritate us with their differing behaviours and mannerisms, they still deserve the opportunity to experience things to their fullest potential.

We need to remind ourselves we can gain a lot from our children and be rewarded ourselves, so rather than only being aware of their negative actions, requesting they “be quiet, sit down, go to bed, give me a break” to inhibit their so called bad behaviour and needing to 'discipline' them; try focusing and rewarding their moments of positive actions, achievements and behaviours.

Set out regular one-on-one time together to interact and create new experiences, making a point to show your child how much you love them, how happy you are with them, and how you enjoy the special moments you share together.

Giving them the options to try things for themselves independently as their ability grows and if they get it wrong encourage them to try again with the confidence that with practice they will achieve their target. Mistakes can also happen, it isn't the end of the world, but it is an opportunity to again show them that there are ways to cope with these situations in a positive way.

Each day we can find ways to show our trust, belief, love, approval, confidence, encouragement, all requirements for the basis of a positive and nurturing parent/child relationship.