There’s a saying which goes, “action speaks louder than words”. True enough, as parents, the words “I love you” alone may come to naught if we do not prove our affection to our little darlings. With a busy lifestyle, how do we show our love to our children?

Trust us you can, through these simple but valuable ways!

1. Communicate

Like any rule of a successful relationship, communication is also the key aspect that brings ourselves closer to our children. Take time in hearing them out and they will give us their time to listen to our rules of life and stories.

2. Make mealtime a family time

Remember this proverb, “a family that eats together, stays together”? Having mealtimes together as a family is a must. Make this a ritual for family members to sit together and enjoy each other’s company. It is during mealtimes that family members discuss ideas, share stories, wind down and enjoy the foods together. Psychologically speaking, since it is a family affair, eating together is advantageous as we end up eating peacefully and not rushed. This promotes healthy eating habits.

3. Kids first, others later

No matter how important it is the call that you’re making or the news that you’re reading, put everything aside first when you see your kids back from school “at least for the first half hour or so”, suggest a number of child psychologists. This way, the kids feel they are more important than anything and anyone else in your life. This, for sure will increase their self-esteem.

4. Spend time with each and every child

If you’re blessed with more than one child, it’s important to spend time alone with each child individually. This is a good way because each one of them will feel special and unique when their siblings are not around. It will also minimize siblings rivalry as they feel safe and valued.

5. Play their game

Show them that you’re interested in their activities. Be it computer games, drawing, building Lego blocks, etc… get involved in their actions. Be their playmates. It helps to build strong parent-child relationship.

6. Live the kid in you

Tell them jokes. Act funny. Laugh together.

7. Show patience and do not interrupt the kids

When a child has a story to tell about what happened at school, don’t interrupt them. Give the child the time that’s needed to complete his or her story. They will feel loved and wanted.

8. Involve them in decision making

What colour to paint the walls, where to go for the weekend and where to dine are some of the situations that we can involve the kids. Engaging them in decision making will give them a great sense of belonging.

9. Practice what we preach

For example, when we tell our kids about courtesy and respect, we should lead the way. Show what it’s like to be courteous and respectful. Children are great copycats. They take us as role models. So, show good examples and praise them when they behave well.

10. Save the precious gifts

When your child gives you a note, makes a card, writes a poem, save all these artifacts in a folder or create a scrapbook where we can put all these masterpieces at one place. Show these to them from time to time so that they know that we treasure every little thing that’s given to us by them. It gives the child a great sense of achievement.

11. Show affection often

Hug them as often as we can. Use encouraging and supporting words to motivate them.

12. Forgive and forget

Tell our kids that it’s OK to make mistakes but what is not OK is not to learn from them. Explain to them the seriousness of each mistake they’ve made. Once they understand their wrongdoings, be generous in forgiving them. Don’t dwell on their past mistakes. Move on.

Those are the simple 12 ways to make your children feel loved everyday. They aren’t difficult nor costly. Very often, it is these small things that we do and the tiny steps that we take that count in our children’s growth and development that will affect them for life.

Written by Noreen Yek Boussetta