Are You Emotionally Available For Your Children?

Parenting is more than just paying the bills and making your shildren are fed, clothed, and get to school each day. The interaction between you and your child is critical to their emotional development. Some parents are baffled when their children began to engage in self destructive behavior or are receiving complaints of misbehavior at school. Parents often say "But I gave them everything!" But did you really give them the most important thing - your time and attention? Did you listen with compassion and not judgement when they expressed their feelings, or did you shush them and refuse to hear? How many fathers were taught that their only role was to provide financial support? Dad, do you know the name of your child's best friend? favorite teacher? favorite food?  What is important to our children should be important for us to listen to. The way we were raised is not the measurement we need to use to determine if we are being good parents. Let's face it  our parents did the best they knew how, but they made mistakes based on the hostile culture in which they themselves were raised. We should know better, so we can do better. Parents, are you emotionally available for your children?