Kids & Love

This weekend, I was enjoying a book that a psychologist friend gave me: The 5 Love Languages of Children by Drs. Chapman & Campbell. I'm hoping to have her talk about this a bit when she comes on my new show, Making It Last, which will start airing this month. For all parents out there, I highly recommend this quick read, and the best endorsement I have is really my own experience with my son, who asked me about the book. When I explained the concept, I also clued him into my top two languages-- touch and quality time. He thought about it and clued me into his, which I already suspected based on my observations. Then we talked about the importance of learning the love language of our loved ones so we can make sure they are receiving the message that we love them. I also relayed to him that the book stated that at a certain age boys will not want public expressions of affection from their mothers, and that I have thought about it and prepared myself to deal with that reality whenever he felt it was time. Turns out, that time has come. We agreed on a fist bump as our public sign of affection, and after a few tries, I had it down. Today, I did the fist bump in the morning as he headed off to camp & all was good. When we got home in the evening, I went to fix him a snack, and out of no where he came and gave me a huge bear hug. Amazing-- I heard him and he heard me! I may not be able to teach a dyslexic child to read, and his gifted mathematical brain will soon surpass my abilities in that arena, but what I am confident of is that I, along with every other parent willing to put in the time, can pass onto the next generation the gift of love. We all need to learn that conflict is a normal part of life, especially when you have two completely different personalities living under one roof, but by communicating our feelings and being open to options, we can work out our differences and enjoy unconditional love from our families. All I can say is that it is never too late to learn new things-- thank you Drs. Chapman & Campbell!