I have been thinking about loving and respecting oneself and others for a long time. But especially this week, since I have seen how forgetting to love yourself can be devastating.
As children, we are taught to respect others, to be polite, love our friends and family.
This is important for sure, but how about the self?
I have seen how many people in my life stop loving themselves. They end up destroying their life, pushing friends and family away.
That is why I believe it’s important to teach children from early on to love themselves!
If children learn that love and respect is a skill, they will be kinder to themselves and others. Plus have a better chance to succeed in whatever it is they want to do.
Usually, children are born innocent and it is beliefs and insecurities that cause them to start forgetting to love themselves.
Being pregnant makes me question how will I make sure that our daughter learns to love herself and be confident.
There are many techniques I have thought of that can help this process for children.
Here are some of them in no particular order:
- Tell them they are enough and provide them with love and support no matter what.
- Make them express their feelings out loud, by dancing, drawing, writing or any activity of their liking.
- Embrace negative feelings as well as positive ones and explain it’s ok to feel both.
- Write a reminder on the mirror “LOVE YOURSELF FIRST”.
- Teach them how they should love and respect themselves the same way they do others and vice versa.
- Have a safe box at home where they can put notes and express themselves at any time.
- Motivate them to have a journal.
- Create vision boards with them as a reminder of all the things they can accomplish.
- Be active and eat healthy always.
- Introduce meditation into their lives.
I believe if we teach these techniques to children at home, school and in any other space, our society will change.
These techniques, of course, will only work if we as parents also practice them.
I do believe it will also help parents connect to the inner child they might have lost along the way.
Let us teach children and let them teach us in return with their amazing gifts of love.
If you have any other techniques you think are worth mentioning please post them in the comments below!