Hoppy
05-26-2008, 09:39 AM
From www.screamfree.com
Quote of the Day: "The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day."
— O.A. Battista, Catholic author (1901-1973)
http://www.screamfree.com/resources/partners/template/images/hal_runkel.jpg Hal's Take: We spend so much of our time accumulating wealth and security that we can far too easily miss out on those small opportunities with our families that actually make life worthwhile. Because we want to provide for our families, we find ourselves caught in a web of responsibilities like jobs, mortgages, soccer practices, dinners, and neighborhood meetings.
There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. The problem arises when we allow those things and the anxiety surrounding them to take precedent over who they are there for in the first place. Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to the importance of your presence around your children. They crave your company and they thrive in your attention. Not false attention or focus where the weight of the family is on their shoulders – but rather, real attention…no strings attached.
Tonight when it’s time for the kids to go to bed. Start a little earlier and be as fully present as you can with your children. Really look at them and allow yourself to delight in them again like you once did. Just by seeing them in this light and giving them your undivided attention, you will be giving them a gift worth far more than any portfolio. You will be giving them the gift of true security.
Hal Runkel, LMFT, author of ScreamFree Parenting:
Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool.
Quote of the Day: "The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day."
— O.A. Battista, Catholic author (1901-1973)
http://www.screamfree.com/resources/partners/template/images/hal_runkel.jpg Hal's Take: We spend so much of our time accumulating wealth and security that we can far too easily miss out on those small opportunities with our families that actually make life worthwhile. Because we want to provide for our families, we find ourselves caught in a web of responsibilities like jobs, mortgages, soccer practices, dinners, and neighborhood meetings.
There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. The problem arises when we allow those things and the anxiety surrounding them to take precedent over who they are there for in the first place. Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to the importance of your presence around your children. They crave your company and they thrive in your attention. Not false attention or focus where the weight of the family is on their shoulders – but rather, real attention…no strings attached.
Tonight when it’s time for the kids to go to bed. Start a little earlier and be as fully present as you can with your children. Really look at them and allow yourself to delight in them again like you once did. Just by seeing them in this light and giving them your undivided attention, you will be giving them a gift worth far more than any portfolio. You will be giving them the gift of true security.
Hal Runkel, LMFT, author of ScreamFree Parenting:
Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool.