Give praise to whom praise is due! We all dream of being praised for our achievements. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. How much praise does a child need in order to feel loved and accepted? What are the risks and challenges involved in the implementation of this love language in different age groups? That’s our subject for today.
You can find out more about the first love language here: LS1-Physical Touch
Babies understand the tone and emotional import of our utterances and gestures long before they can recognize words. Our facial expressions and behavior also produce social vibes that children learn to interpret early in life. Words of affirmation is a love language that is understood at every stage of development. Here’s an example of how this understanding might look at a later stage.
"My dad claps and cheers when I make a goal in soccer. Then he says, ‘You worked hard for that!’ He makes sure I understand that playing is more important than winning. And when I mess up, he lets me know it’s not such a big deal. ‘It happens to everybody.’ He likes it when I do my best."
The message this boy gets from his father is full of affection and encouragement, and tells him, “You are important to me.” These are seeds that will produce a rich harvest of healthy feelings of self-worth as the boy grows from childhood into manhood.
Playing together is a special way for parents to knit their children’s souls to their own. When they give their children their undivided attention, trying to understand their feelings and put them into words, the children’s emotional intelligence is increased. See blog EQ and Family.
Words and Actions
Loving words alone are not as easily understood as those imbedded in a loving context. For example, you tell your child a good night story and end with, “I love you so much!” Words of praise or affirmation should always be accompanied by a corresponding, affirmative action in order to help the child understand the meaning of the words. Later, when the child has connected the words with the action, words will suffice because his or her brain will connect the words with the associated experiences of the past.
"My mother used to compliment my red hair every morning when she brushed it. That helped me develop a positive self-image."
Be careful !
Every child has certain unique characteristics that their schoolmates can tease them about. Red hair is beautiful if Mommy and Daddy say so.
We should differentiate between compliments awarded for achievements and those given for regular daily duties. In either case, exaggerations should be avoided. An excess of sugarcoated compliments can cause words to lose their meaning. For children, praise must be fitting and just in order to have its intended effect. Words of praise or affirmation given without a tangible cause can easily be interpreted as flattery or deceit.
Children can get used to too much praise. If this overabundance should suddenly cease, for whatever reason, it may cause fear and a sense of personal failure to arise in some sensitive children.
Encouragement
For babies, everything that happens is new. When they take their first steps and receive encouragement, their will to learn is strengthened. Identification and imitation is probably the strongest method of learning in the first few years of life. See blog - Conditional Love. When children see their parents giving gifts to others, they learn to do the same and the positive resonance received reinforces their actions. In this way, all kinds of behaviors can be trained and managed.
The ability to give encouragement to others is largely dependent on one’s own energy level and joy in life. For this reason, it is particularly beneficial for parents to praise and encourage one another regularly. Anger is affirmation’s greatest enemy. It destroys marriages, as well as parent-child relationships. Children react to anger automatically with contempt, and this destroys parental authority. Insults have a paralyzing effect on children. Because they believe every word you say, disproportionate feelings of guilt are produced. It is therefore extremely important to keep our emotions under control. (This will be a subject for another time.)
The Tone Makes the Music
Keeping a quiet voice in the face of great stress is an art that many parents would do well to learn. By so doing, they show their children they have the situation, the relationship and themselves under control. Children will pick up and learn that skill from their parents. See blog - EQ und Family.
When children are small, commands can work well. However, we teach them early on to add “PLEASE” to their wishes. This teaches them to respect authority. Young children accept this as natural, unless there are problems with authority. Older children, and especially teenagers, are much easier to reach with REQUESTS.
When children draw back in an effort to protect themselves in situations that are not at all dangerous, or when they fight a lot and show signs of rebellion, these are warning signals that should not be ignored. These children need to have their emotional tanks filled. The best and easiest way to do that is through their favorite love languages.
For example, if we want to warn a child about drugs, we must not do it in an aggressive tone. Important values must be communicated in a way that builds confidence. Good advice is a gift, but if it is wrapped in ugly packaging, it can provoke rebellion. The child’s reaction may be the exact opposite from what you want. Education should not consist of a long list of prohibitions, but of counsel, nurture and support. If parents forbid their children to smoke, but smoke themselves, children will find it difficult to accept their authority and take them seriously.
Learning to make decisions
On the other hand, children feel respected when they are allowed to make decisions and see that their opinions count. Of course, their competence grows as they do and must be measured according to their age and maturity. When parents choose to focus more on the good in their children rather than on their misdeeds and express these thoughts in their daily communication, their children’s self-confidence and competence is strengthened. When children learn to make good decisions at an early age, this habit will accompany them into later life as well.
Example: Reto (10)
Reto’s parents noticed that he was no longer interested in anything. He seemed constantly bored and totally unmotivated. Nothing they tried could get his attention. They bought him a dog, but it didn’t help. When they went to a seminar on the five love languages, they realized they had completely neglected his love language. Although they had given him presents and hugged him a lot, he hadn’t reacted a bit. They saw that when they had spoken to him, most of their communication contained some form of reprimand. Then they began to praise him more and attach the message «You are important» to their words. They chose to speak positively.
One month later, Reto was a new boy. Hi parents were convinced that raising children was no coincidental affair, but rather a daily challenge. Children are all unique little people who are in a continuous process of change. The experiences and learning processes they are constantly passing through make them dynamic entities that parents need to learn about and adjust to every day. If Reto had been involved in internet gaming, his parents’ efforts to reach him may have come too late. That is an addiction that destroys brain power and social skills.
Good Measures
If we speak the wrong love language to our children over a long period of time, the results can be devastating. Children who experience this become frustrated and are forced to go through life with an empty or half empty love tank. Simple duties become difficult and sooner or later they will question their parents’ authority. Messages of rebuke and reprimand showered upon a child whose greatest desire is to hear words of affirmation will wreak havoc in the child’s soul.
Parents are to raise, or educate their children. The word “educate” comes from the latin «educare», which means to bring up or, more precisely, to lead out. Where to? This is a very important question. It’s a question we should not easily forget. It will help us recognize what is actually happening in our children’s development. We really do want the best for them, don’t we?
However, if you decide to become competent in this love language, it would be good to direct your attention to this subject for a certain amount of time (perhaps a month). It would also be good to do it with another person for objectivity’s sake. Maybe one person is good at note taking and could keep a diary of all the observations and examples of other parents, books on education, teachers, internet, etc. These ideas could then be practiced in the mirror to learn how to best reach a child with these messages of love that would bring healing and joy to his or her hurting heart.
Your change in attitude and behavior will not go unnoticed. Your child will realize the difference. When you make a mistake and revert to earlier habits, apologize. This will also have a positive effect. If you are persistent in your new habits, your child may even begin to reciprocate and give you some positive reinforcement. Then you’ll see you are on the right path and will be able to enjoy the fruit of your labor!
Children’s Response to the Love Languages
Regina (8) : "My mommy tells me she loves me every day. I think my daddy loves me too, but he never says it."
Kevin (10) : He recently arrived at his fourth foster home. He believes they love him simply because "they don’t yell at me. They treat me like a human being, even when I mess up. For some reason they like me. "
Lisa (12) : She broke her arm. Her parents encouraged her in this challenging situation, saying she would surely catch up on her school work. The assured her that they were proud of her and knew she wouldn’t give up.
When children and especially youth are sick, it’s a good opportunity to get closer to their hearts. Appreciation and approval can be communicated. These are precious moments indeed. However, one must be careful that these are not the only precious moments we share with our children. If so, there is a danger that the children will grow into adulthood with the idea the only way to get the attention they crave and their love tanks filled is through sickness and infirmity.
Closing Thoughts
It is generally easier for one parent or the other to adjust to the love language needs of their children. Many are not aware of the damage they cause with the tone of their voice, impatience and anger. In such cases, ask your partner to be your sounding board. Ask him or her to note such situations and tell you what you said and the reactions that were produced. This will be a humbling process, but if you can do it, it will be a sign of your dedication and sense of parental responsibility.
If you take hold of this opportunity to work on yourself, you will enjoy great blessings, which will be seen in your children and in your own sense of self-worth. Remember:
Children are like a garden. The more we plant and the more care we invest, the more abundant our harvest will be!
Let’s enjoy the beautiful flowers and fruits of our garden of education. Good work in the area of training our children will produce much joy in life!
'Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds.
You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.'
The application to our subject is simple: Our children are our gardens. Our interactions are the seeds. Depending on the seeds we plant, our children can become healthy and mature or fruitless and useless adults. When you look at it that way, I would say any effort we invest is definitely worth it!
Dear Reader, I wish you a nice week!
