I recall hugging, playing, dancing and kissing my toddler sons with such joy and intensity. I asked a lot of my friends if it is normal to over indulge in such immersion of high octave love fest. Their response was resounding yes. I still kept thinking. I recall my loving grand mother’s visits. My sister and I used to run half way across the street to invite her home, hugging her, kissing her and carrying her bags whenever she visited us. She used to say with dignity and a sweet smile, “everything in moderation.” I often see children in families where parents treat them with respect and do not infantilize them with excessive outpour of constant hugging- act maturely and appear tad more responsible. They do not take things for granted, and manage emotions with a balanced mind. Each of the two parents can vary in style greatly and it is hard to optimize and achieve uniformity in desired interaction with our kids. In addition to showing love and saying “I love you” as often as we can (which by the way is just so awesome), I still wonder children deserve our respect just as much as the words of love we pour over them. That said, I wonder if we should also think of showing our love by respecting their views, listening to them with mesmerized eyes, asking their opinions on things and sharing our thoughts as though they matter greatly. Indeed, they and their minds matter immensely!
