- Spend time with your children. My dad worked a lot when I was a child. I remember days when he would leave for work before I got up for school and get home around dinner time. But he still had time to spend with his four children. We played together. We went to the park. We went to the zoo, the Children's Museum, church functions, school functions, and spent time together at home. When I was getting older and we had "Family Life" classes at school, my dad would take me to Village Inn to get a piece of pie and talk about what we were learning. Those could have been really awkward talks. But they weren't. My dad was spending time with me. That wasn't all we talked about. We talked about what was worrying me, how school was going, etc. I will always remember those times and that is why I try to have "Mommy and K days" with my daughter as often as I can with two little boys around. When the boys get older, I will try to have "Mommy and Little K days" and "Mommy and T-Rex days" too!
- Don't let your children be concerned about your problems. As adults, we go through a lot of stuff. It's important that our children know that they do not need to be concerned with our problems. Kids have enough to worry about without taking on our issues as well!
When I would get worried about something when I was a kid, my dad would always say to me, "What kind of problem is that?"
I would respond with, "An adult problem."
"So," he would say, "What should you do?"
"Don't worry about it."
If you are going through something, sometimes it is important for your kids to know what you are going through. For example, if you have a chronic illness. Your kids will want to know what's wrong with mom (or dad). But even if it is something that you tell your kids about, let them know that it is not something they need to worry about. Let them know that mom and dad are taking care of it. If they have questions, they can ask. But they shouldn't worry about it, whatever it may be.
- Be silly with your kids! My dad loves to sing. To this day, he still sings silly songs to his dog and to his grand kids. Sometimes when he's in a really silly mood, he might even sing them to his grown kids. I caught this habit from him and I sing silly songs to my kids. My daughter says I'm crazy. My husband says I'm weird, but they still laugh when I sing my silly songs. My dad's silly songs are one my favorite things about him!
- Show your spouse affection. Don't let your kids saying "Eww" when you give your spouse a quick peck on the lips deter you from showing affection. I always knew my parents loved each other because of how they treated each other and those little kisses and pet names were one way they showed it.
There's a lot of other things I learned from my dad, but I could write a book if I kept going.
Happy Birthday, Dad!
I love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment