I am so blessed to have great kids—all three of them. But I often have people ask, “What in the world did you do to have such a great teenager?” She has her values in place, she is a leader rather than a follower, and she loves Jesus. Now is she a slob? Yes. Do I have to stay on her all the time to get her chores done? Yes. Could she screw up at any given moment? Yes. But in the grand scope of things, I’ll take it.
We give her boundaries. We keep tabs on her. We know where she is most all the time. We set rules she must follow, and there is a punishment when she doesn’t. And she loves us, not in spite of these things, but because of them. She knows, without a doubt, that she is loved to the moon and back, and knows that’s why we parent the way we do.
More than anything, though, she is the girl she is because of her daddy. A daughter must have the love of her father. David has put her on a pedestal since the day she was born; she will accept no less from anyone she dates.
We practice the Five Love Languages with our children…as best as we can, anyway. Every child has his “emotional tank” filled in a certain way. The five “love languages” include:
- Physical touch
- Words of affirmation
- Time
- Gifts
- Acts of service
Miranda’s is definitely time. She loves to spend time with us. When we speak that love language to her, everyone wins!
I don’t know any other teenage girl that would actually like her daddy to go back to college so he could be her room mate! And that’s from her mouth, not mine.
I don’t know any other teenage girl that would actually like her daddy to go back to college so he could be her room mate! And that’s from her mouth, not mine.
On Father’s day this year, we made David a card thanking him for speaking love languages to his family. Truly, it is just a tiny glimpse into the dedicated father that he is. We are blessed.
What is your child’s love language?
From my heart,
Celeste
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