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He giggles, laughs, smiles...but is your child truly happy?
I actually ask myself this question on a regular basis. I worry. I worry about the fact because my (adopted) children were abused and/or neglected as infants and although the memories are not there, the residual effects remain for
a lifetime. I read, I read and I read some more. Everything tells me, and I know, that happiness does not come from without, but rather from within. A child must feel mastery, control, contentment from what he can do, contentment from what he accomplishes to feel "happy".
Think about it parents. Are you truly happy from what others tell you, from feeling that you "belong" to a group? No. What you "own" makes you happy. The words spoken to your child "oh, that's a pretty picture"; "You worked really hard on that, didn't you?"...in the end these do not do it. Your child must feel content with his own accomplishments,
Bottom line. Encourage your child's interests (not yours). It does not matter whether or not you are into NASCAR, Star Wars, model HO scale trains, or art...it matters that your child IS into it (OMG, what I know about NASCAR, Star Wars and HO scale trains I do NOT want to discuss). Find a way to encourage your child's interests, your child's dreams. Not only will your child be happy but guess what, you just might learn a little about yourself along the way.
From a Scholastic.com article:
A good rule of thumb is to keep it simple and enjoy your children. You can't buy happiness — it is learned and earned. But once they have developed a solid can-do attitude, children are set with skills to which they can return throughout their lives.
Geez, I love my children and what they teach me.
(Ps, I have such a great camera the resolutions of the photo I attempted to upload WON"T.)
(January 2007) (
