Parenting

·       This week in class we talked about parenting and the importance of communication and boundaries with your kids. Lets start by talking about the importance of parenting. There are a lot of reason as to why parents are important. Some of those reasons are to care for and nurture children, provide for a family, raise kids to be good humans, teach about the Savior and the gospel, someone for children to trust and rely on, and build strong relationships. All of these things are vital for children as they are growing up to help them become good adults. One of the biggest things we talked about is the importance of contact with your kids. We discussed a story of a children's hospital where it was split into two halves. One half of the building consistently had a good recovery rate of the babies, while the other side consistently had babies who didn't make it through the same illnesses. The doctors and nurses tried everything they could think of yet nothing changed. One night one of the doctors was working a late shift on the side where the babies were living and noticed  one the cleaning ladies holding the babies. Every night as she swept and mopped, she would stop to hold each baby talking to them as she went. The doctor asked her if she consistently did this and she said she did. This discovery helped give them the conclusion that babies who were given extra love, connection, and time were living longer and healing more often. This story struck me because it really shows how much connection and love can literally heal others. We also talked about how a little bit of connection and attention can go along way. Our professor shared an experience he had where he knew a young boy who had good parents but was a little neglected as there were a lot of siblings younger than him. All of the attention went to the babies and he was sort of left to entertain himself. Our professor said it was almost awkward to watch him because he couldn't sit still and you could tell he was needing some extra love and attention. He decided that he wanted to see if he could help so he made a plan! Every Sunday for the next few weeks he would go up to him a few time and shake his hand, make eye contact, and ask him about things he was interested in. A few weeks in he could tell there was already a big change happening. Our professor even talked to the boys mom and she said he behavior at school and at home has improved immensely and he has been such a good older brother and student. This story he shared with us also made an impact on me in how important it is to give quality time and love to your kids. This lesson helped give me a lot of good ideas that I want to take into my future family. It wont always be perfect but I want my kids to get all of the time, love, and affection they need.