Kids Who Need the Most Love

"The kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving of ways."

Privately Parent, Publicly Praise

"Mock your children as they struggle and they will learn to never share their struggles with you." (Shared from this great article, worth the read!:

GREAT article "privately parent and publicly praise" your children. My Mission President, gave some great marriage advice years before I got married - to paraphrase him -, 'do not talk badly about your spouse in front of others', there is a time and a place to share concerns or problems with a few select TRUSTED friends/family, but to focus on negative behavior and feelings in your children or your spouse only serves to give a breeding ground for the feelings to grow in your heart. I'm a big believer in "As a man thinketh so is he", and positive thoughts lead to positive feelings, and positive feelings lead to positive behavior. In my humble opinion;)

A Child's Self-Esteem

"Parents need to fill their child's bucket of self-esteem so high that the world can't poke enough holes to drain it dry." 

~Alvin Price 

{image source}

Our Childrens Inner Voice

"The way we speak to our children becomes their inner voice" 

~Peggy O'Mara

Helping Your Children Turn Out Well

If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.

~Abigail Van Buren

{source}

A Good Kid

"Don't let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one." 

~Glennon Melton

posted by momastery.com

Listen to the Little Stuff

Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. 

~Catherine M. Wallace~

© Catherine M. Wallace, 2001

** to read her essay "Seven Don'ts Every Parent Should Do," and excerpts from her books, see www.catherinemwallace.com
or you can purchase her Motherhood in the Balance or For Fidelity books by clicking the images below (you will be redirected to Barnes & Noble):

Be In Their Life Today

To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their life today.

Cherish Children

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them.

~Richard L. Evans

Your Most Precious Jewels

"The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children."

The Parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree

One of my favorites:)

The Parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree 

"In everything you do in your family, keep in mind the miracle of the Chinese bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!

Many things in family life are like the Chinese bamboo tree. You work and you invest time and effort, and you do everything you can possibly do to nurture growth, and sometimes you don't see anything for weeks, months, or even years. But if you're patient and keep working and nurturing, that "fifth year" will come, and you will be astonished at the growth and change you see taking place.

 Patience is faith in action. Patience is emotional diligence. It's the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow. It reveals love. It gives birth to understanding."

From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey (pp. 22-23)

I Love You - Free 8x10 Printable

Here's a little freebie I whipped up for you all:) Click HERE for the free 8x10 download

I Love You 

by from a book by Maryann Cusimano Love

I am your parent, you are my child, 

I am your quiet place, you are my wild. 

I am your calm face, you are my giggle, 

I am your wait, you are my wiggle. 

I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake, 

I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake. 

I am your lullably, you are my peek-a-boo, 

I am your goodnight kiss, you are my I love you.

The Miracle of Love

Before you were conceived,

We wanted you.

Before you were born,

We loved you.

Before you were here an hour,

We would die for you.

This is the miracle of love.

{Customizable printable available HERE}

Parental Responsibilities

"While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to 'train up a child in the way he should go' ultimately this responsibility rests with parents."

~L. Tom Perry

Mothering in Moments

"Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together. The joy of motherhood comes in moments."

~Russell M. Ballard

Love Her Mother, Elaine S. Dalton

"The greatest thing 

a father can do 

for his daughter 

is to love her mother."

This was from my another one of my favorite talks from General Conference, 'Love Her Mother' - not sure that's the official title, but that's what I'm calling it - by Elaine S. Dalton. As the mother of 1.75 girls (I have another girl coming next month) I made sure my husband gave his FULL ATTENTION to this talk, luckily he does a miraculous job at loving me already:). So to feed my latest obsession I whipped up a few printables of it for you......(if sharing please link back to this site, thanks;)

To download click HERE

To download click HERE

To download click HERE

To download click HERE

(I give credit to www.furrygraphics.com for the paper for this last image)

I Love These Eyes!

This is just a thought I want to write down. Recently I have played a little game with my 3-year old son, basically, I'll touch his eyes and say "I love these eyes", then touch his nose and say "I love this nose", then his cheeks, and say "I love these cheeks", and I carry on until I've covered all of him. He always has a big smile on his face when I do it to him. Anyway, after a couple of days on playing our little game, I caught him in the chair stroking his arms saying "I love these arms", then onto his tummy saying "I love this tummy", you can probably guess how happy that made me as a parent to see my little man loving the skin he's in. The last quote I posted on here was about instilling a strong identity in your children and I really believe that is so important, because if children know they're loved, it's so much easier for them to love themselves, and then it makes it a whole lot easier for them to love others, and the cycle continues.

Today would be a great day to show and express love to those you do, too often (speaking for me) I assume that love is known, but why leave doubt when you can leave your sure witness:).

Strong Identity

 

"Create meaningful family bonds that give your children an identity stronger than what they can find with their peer group or at school or anyplace else. This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, and for Sundays."
('What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest', M. Russell Ballard)

Respect for Ourselves and Others

“Ask yourself these questions: Am I an example of respect in my home by the way I treat those I love the most? What is my demeanor during a sports event? If my child has a disagreement with a teacher, coach, or peer, do I listen to both sides of the issue? Do I show respect for the property of others as well as take care of my own? How do I respond to others with whom I disagree in matters of religion, lifestyle, or politics?


“As parents and leaders exemplify and teach respect for others, we confirm in the hearts of our children that each of us is truly a child of God and all are brothers and sisters through eternity. We will focus on the things we have in common—on the qualities of heart that bind the family of God together, rather than on our differences.”

Margaret S. Lifferth, “Respect and Reverence,” Ensign, May 2009, 11

If I Had My Child To Raise Again

"If I had my child to raise over again

I'd build self-esteem first and the house later

I'd finger paint more and point the finger less

I would do less correcting and more connecting

I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes

I would care to know less and know to care more

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites

I'd stop playing serious and seriously play

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars

I'd do more hugging and less tugging

I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often

I would be firm less often and affirm much more

I'd model less about the love of power

And more about the power of love."

-Diane Loomans-

(taken from here)