Most, if not all of us, would say we love our child. I certainly hope you do because love is what a child needs most. If you provide the kind of healthy love your child needs you will give him a foundation which will bless him his entire life. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, ” Is my kind of love healthy or unhealthy?”
What KIND of love does your child need? There is only one kind of real love, a healthy love. There is a kind of attachment that masquerades as love but it’s not real love. This is an unhealthy” love” that refuses to be tough when necessary and often seeks to meet the need of the parent.
This unhealthy “love” can be seen in all types of relationships; marriage, parent-child, child-parent, teacher-student, friendships, dating, etc. This unhealthy “love” can exist in almost every human interaction . Unhealthy love is marked by selfishness and lack of regard for what is in the best interest of the other person.
We can have caring feelings for our child, feel emotionally close to them but hurt them in the name of love. Yes, there are bad or unhealthy ways to “love” our child and the toll on them can be severe and long-term.
What is a healthy kind of love? Think a moment about something it is not.
Healthy love is not a feeling or emotion. There is no question that strong feelings are attached to love but love is much more than a feeling. Feelings can change quickly but love stays put. Feelings are the emotional response we have to an event or something a person does. Healthy love is disciplined to not be controlled by anger,fear or any other negative emotion.
Parents who rear their children by the kind or mood they’re in or the emotions their children evoke in them can do great damage to them. A child reared by such an emotionally immature parent must “walk on eggshells” so as to stay in their good graces. He cannot risk being himself and being real because his parent cannot handle it. Do you have a healthy or unhealthy kind of love for your child?
