Thought Provoked...

We're home. Hazen is doing much better- I do have to take him to the Hospital at least once a day to get all suctioned out, but for the most part, he seems to be improving. Just getting all of the crap out of his lungs will probably take a while, but we've seen worse.

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about something I read in "The Five Love Languages for Children", recently. It's an interesting book, but I actually didn't finish it, because it was due back at the Library. Anyway, in the section about the Words of Affection to show your child your love, it warned about being "too forthcoming" with ones words of encouragement. It said that if you congratulated or encouraged your child too much about things, then your child will grow up thinking that you're not being sincere, or your child will be a big fat loser because you congratulated them for doing things they should be doing anyway. I think it said somewhere in there about not telling them you love them ALL of the time, because then you become insincere.

Now that I've butchered the explanation of that, my thoughts:

I'm not sure how much I agree with this. I try to always tell Hazen how much I love him, and what a good boy I think he is. Do I stop telling him what a good boy he is because it's expected that he eats his food? No. I am a HUGE proponent of positive reinforcement, and I'm not going to stop because some dude tells me to. I think as Hazen grows up, and things like eating his food aren't such a big deal, saying "Thank You, Hazen, for eating such a good dinner", will go a long way. Letting the little things go unnoticed because they're expected? How do YOU feel when no one thanks you for doing the laundry, because it's expected? How would YOU feel if your spouse or parents only told you they loved you now and again, because they didn't want to come across as insincere? I will tell my little boy how much I love him, and shower him with hugs and kisses until the day I die. I may not be as kissy kissy with him when he's say, 27, but I sure as heck will always let him know how much I love him and how proud I am of him.

And you can take that to the bank.