When a child first starts to learn new things, they look to their parents for a reaction, so that they can learn how to respond to a given stimuli. That look of complete confusion is something every parent is familiar with, and knowing that even a smile is teaching the child a lifelong lesson is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world.
One of the biggest roles in a relationship between a parent and a child is the definition of success. Is the child successful for trying their hardest, or for achieving a goal with absolute perfection? Is the parent considered successful if their child gets a full scholarship to an Ivy League school, or if they live every day as a happy, upstanding citizen? Regardless of the answer, it’s easy to forget that the parent-child relationship is both a marathon, and a sprint. Those little moments spent exploring will shape who the child is, as much as who the parent is. The relationship becomes a collective bond, one that is living and breathing, and one that will mature with age.
To a child, a parent is everything; a friend, a teacher, a leader, but most importantly, a parent. They are the ones that are there when a toe is stubbed. They are there when an errant baseball breaks a front room window. Simply put, the wide-ranging roles that parents play on a regular basis are acknowledged by their children.
When life slows down, and parents finally have a moment to be able to sit down and think, it’s easyto feel as if you are unable to convincingly communicate how important your child is to you. It’s easy for kids to tune out the messages that are being sent to them, and in many cases these messages simply become white noise. For a child to understand how important they are, it’s not a one-on-one, one time talk that gets the point across, it’s a consistent effort—on a regular basis—to do little things that cannot be misconstrued as being aloof or apathetic.
In an age where technology regularly blends the line between personal and professional times, it’s important for children to know that no matter how busy you are, they are—and always will be—the most important thing in your life. Finding a way to convey this message isn’t exactly a small task, and combined with the fact that parenting isn’t a planned series of events and decisions, making sure that your child is aware of how special they are is something that can be overlooked.
