The 3 L's of Parenting

Listen: Always listening to your child is very important. This starts from the moment they're born and can listen to us. They interpret everything we say, and understand our emotions behind it. Once they start talking, it's the real test of what they have been hearing. They might not have much of a variety of things to say, and we might not understand any of it yet, but when your little one is seeking you out to babble on about who knows what, that "who knows what" is probabaly the most exciting or stressful thing their little minds have dealt with all day. So listen, empathize, and mold them for how they should act in the future. If I'm listening and encouraging my daughter to talk to me from day one, I will have instilled in her how important it is for her to listen to me, and know that I will always listen to her throughout her whole life.

Learn: We all learn a whole new world when first becoming parents. Our responsibilities and priorities have made a 360 degree turn over night, and will stay that way forever! Yet no two situations or stories are the same. The differences in our family dynamics, morals, work and home life all allow everyone to do things different and still raise wonderful little humans. But it is so important to allow ourselves to learn from our children. Maybe it's not always taking the advice from others,  or being more patience, controlling your emotions, or learning what YOUR child needs and doing all you can to provide that.

Love: This one is obvious, but can be done in so many different ways. Showing love doesn't always have to be hugging and saying I love you. It's providing support and nurturing their needs. It's doing things that we know give the person happy feelings. And it's showing appreciation for the things done. Now I know, it's not easy for an infant to say thank you, right? But by working on these things before they can talk, teaches them what they should be saying once they do talk. My 2 year old asks for hugs and kisses from her loved ones, says "mama, I love you!" or ""dada, I love you!" all on her very own. And that's because we have ALWAYS done that to her. Teaching her to love is teaching her to show respect for others and to always be gracious for what she has.