Many parents believe that the gift their kids want most may be a thoughtful dinner, a great and well prepared party, a dream realized with the help of mom and dad, etc.
Parents always hope to give the best gift to their kids, regardless of the time and energy this gift might require.
I still remember preparing for my son's birthday a month in advance: sending invitation cards, looking for a party site and organizing the procedures. I was sure that this great birthday party would make my son happy.
So I promised him in an exciting voice, “I will hold the most fun party for your next birthday!”
He replied, “Mom, if you don't always either make calls or close your ears when I am talking to you; if you don’t always go shopping online or hardly ever play with me; if you don’t always go out to see the sites, then one more party is okay.”
I had been working so hard, however, my son didn’t appreciate it at all! So I explained to him, “I am busy giving you the best birthday party. It will be the best gift!”
He replied, “But mom, you are the best gift of all!” Hearing this, I was shocked!
I used to tell my son, "You are God's greatest gift to mom!" However, it never occurred to me that I would be the best gift for my son.
His words reminded me of a video I saw on WeChat not long ago. An experimenter invited 10 kids to write a letter to Santa Claus.
All the kids wrote down various gifts they wanted without hesitation: toys, new games, guitar, a unicorn, etc.
Then, the experimenter asked these kids: If you can write a letter to your parents for gifts, what kind of gifts do you want?
Their feedback was almost the same: I want my parents to spend more time with me, pay more attention to me, eat with me, have fun with me, tell me stories and accompany me to play with dolls all day.
Then the experimenter asked them, "If you could send out only one letter, which one would you choose?” All the kids chose to send the letter to their parents instead of Santa Claus.
When parents read these letters, their eyes became misty. They said, “When I am not busy, I will spend all my time accompanying my kids. We always want to give them the best, but I never thought that for our kids, I am the best gift.”
Most of the time, parents’ so-called “Attentive Companion” accidentally feels like meaningless effort. We make a warm dinner, hold a great party, or keep our home clean and sweet, and enjoy living in it.
However, what our kids hope more is that their parents could spend more time and pay attention to them.
The real meaning of being an attentive companion with kids is: instead of trying to do things perfectly, or exhausting yourself, or wasting time on meaningless work, just comfortably spend time with your kids. Because parents are the best gift for kids.
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We welcome you to visit us in person to find out more. Simply reply to our WeChat and send us your name and your child’s name along with your phone number.
International Sunshine Home Arts & Sciences