Know your child’s love language?
The five ways that people speak and understand emotional love.
Author Gary Chapman explains it as the five ways that people speak and understand emotional love.
Turns out that this relates to children as well, when it comes to my own son, it is pretty obvious that his love language is gifts.
He loves giving away his baby toys. He loves picking flowers for me, making cards for people and had a full scale meltdown when I wouldn’t take a collection of “pretty junk” he collected to “his aunt” (my friend).
When this friend adopted a cat, Aidan insisted on using his savings to buy a cat bowl . . . his love language is much like mine.
I like to give love through gifts (I really, really do) and I like receiving love through words of affirmation . . . not too many words, don't make it awkward now.
This made me decide to research love languages in children and this is what I found.
1 Physical touch
From hugs and kisses to rough-housing, in children who understand this love language, physical touch will communicate love more deeply than will the words, “I love you”.
2 Words of affirmation
In communicating love, words are powerful; they nurture the child’s inner sense of worth and security. Even though such words are quickly said, they are not soon forgotten.
A child reaps the benefits of affirming words for a lifetime.
3 Quality time
Quality time is focused attention. It means giving a child your undivided attention.
Quality time is a parent’s gift presence to a child. It conveys this message: “You are important. I like being with you.”
4 Gifts
Most children respond positively to gifts, but for some, receiving gifts is their primary love language. You might be inclined to think that this is so for all children, judging from the way they beg for things.
It is true that all children – and adults – want to have more and more but those whose language of love is receiving gifts will respond differently when they get their gift.
Remember, for them this is love’s loudest voice because they see the gift as an extension of you and your love.
5 Acts of service
Some people speak acts of service as their primary love language.
When a child asks you to fix a bicycle or mend a doll’s dress, he or she does not merely want to get a task done; your child is crying for emotional love.
This is just brief information from the book The Five Love Languages of Children by Dr Gary Chapman.
You can do a quiz here: link: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/ – to find your own love language.
