Children more than anyone else needs to feel unconditional love. They need to know continually that they are loved especially by their parents and there are specific ways to communicate love to children regardless of their age.
Amongst other means of communicating, every child knows and believe beyond a doubt that you(their parents) love them when they feel your physical touch. Your touch is sacred to them. It helps your children know that they are safe and protected. Every time, they need to feel the warmth of your embrace.
Studies have shown that children who had little or no skin to skin contact are more liable to feel more insecure and trustless. Physical touch is so important, even Jesus Christ practised it:
“And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”
Mark 10:16
“The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children.”
Anonymous
It is important to note that your children don’t just need to be touched today but they need to be continually touched, especially by their parents. Don’t just do it today and take a holiday. We(parents) have to make it a system. There are many ways to get this done. Here are a few. I call this love touches:
- Kiss your child regularly and let him(her) kiss you back; especially when they are going to bed or going to school.
- Gently touch your child on his(her) back.
- Running your hand through your child’s hair.
- Tell your child stories while he(she) is seated on your lap.
- Kneel down to your child’s level and give him(her) a tight hug.
- Do high fives with your child regularly.
- Play games that require physical touch.
- Do tickle challenges regularly.
- Have a Family hug after morning and night devotion.
- Hold hands during family prayers.
Make these acts a lifestyle until they become a habit. If you haven’t been practising this, starting now might make your children wonder what’s going on, don’t hesitate to tell them it’s your way of letting them know that you love them more than anything in the world.
Don’t show them how much you love them only when they do right but even when they are mess up (as every child often does), that’s a good place to make a child sure that you really love him(her). It’s called unconditional love. Don’t segregate between male and female children in this matter. All children have the same appetite for love.
For some of us (parents) who are hard touchers, who aren’t used to touching for one reason or the other, probably we had a childhood where touching wasn’t a norm, we can also. It’s learnable. First of all, practice touching yourself. Practice all these touches on yourself regularly and resolve in your heart to touch your children every day, every time.
Practice makes perfect.
Practice these love touches and your children would know that they are loved. Every love touch is loudly saying something in silence, “I love you!” Start the live touches today, don’t wait another second.
What other love touches can you recommend for other parents? Please share with us(other parents) below.
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I Have Children 