Supporting Our Children’s Emotional Health Needs
Beyond physical needs I personally believe supporting our children’s emotional health contributes the most to their outcomes and to their attachment style. Consider people who grow up across different socio-economic strata but who have loving and supportive parents and wind up doing well and becoming good and decent people who love and support their children.
Before I dive into this area, let me say that I recognize everyone has their own drama and trauma. We all have our own emotional wounding that we carry with us and into our relationships with our partners and our children. Even just being aware that we carry it and how it impacts us can change our behavior, because we become conscious of it. We move it from the subconscious where we act on that pain without knowing to the conscious where when we act on it, we know it, and can then apologize and choose to make a change for the next time.
Our parents did the best they knew with what they had to work with. Maybe they weren’t given emotional support, love, compassion and aren’t sure what it even looks like to have given it to you. Because of that you may struggle showing it consistently to your children – but you are aware that something isn’t working and you want to do better. That’s step one.
We bring into our adult and parenting lives, all the stuff that came before us. I’m no exception. But while it may be a reason, it can’t be an excuse. Growing up without a father around I understand how it can impact us as women, mothers and partners.
Do you have my booklet 7 Powerful Tips to Emotionally Feed Your Child?
