Parenting 101: Affirmation and Encouragement Is Important For Kids – Chioma Momah

 

Growing up I had quite an idyllic childhood…days running around in the sun with my siblings, filled with hugs and kisses from my parents. I actually saw myself as the female Peter Pan and was in no hurry to grow up. Today I try to recreate for my children an even better version of what I had which was a warm loving environment where I felt loved and thrived.

You see, I believe that growing up in such a household where I was hugged, loved and affirmed helped me in many ways. For one when I became a full-fledged teenager I was never interested in being away from home as my mother encouraged me to bring my friends home (including boys). I also never fell prey to those sweet words spoken by eager beaver boys…after all I had heard them all before from my parents who never failed to tell us “how lucky they were to have us” and “how special we were”.

Don’t get me wrong-when we erred we got punished but after every punishment were soothing words telling us that the flogging we had received was borne out of love for us. Actually most times mum did the flogging while dad did the soothing, which was a good balance for us. Also, our creativity was encouraged within well-defined boundaries.
Affirmation and encouragement is very important aspect of parenting especially if you’re blessed with a sensitive or emotionally needy child and even the toughest child will benefit from being in a loving environment.