Do you ever tell your children that you’re proud of them? I sure do… every day in fact. Before my daughter goes to sleep at night, I tell her how much I love her and how proud I am of her.
What am I proud of?
There’s many things about my daughter that I’m proud of. I’m proud of how brave she is to climb to the top of the jungle gym and go down the biggest slide all by herself. I’m proud of her willingness to try new foods (that you won’t find me eating), like the other day when she tried her first sour candy. I’ve never seen someone pucker their ENTIRE face as tightly as she did, yet afterwards she giggled about it and asked for another piece.
I’m proud of how she offers to help her mom and dad, getting daddy’s socks, or finding mommy’s purse. I’m proud of the way she’s growing up and learning new things every day.
I feel it’s important to tell my daughter how much I love her… how much she makes me happy… and how proud I am of her… each and every day. And the key is that love and pride is based on nothing more than her being my daughter. It’s unconditional.
If she’s been naughty or crabby all day, when it’s time for night-night, I’m still proud of her and I still love her unconditionally. She’s my daughter. I’m her father. That’s all there is to it really.
It’s Unconditional
Now don’t get me wrong. I have no intentions of giving false praise to my daughter. I’m not going to tell her that she’s great at everything, and convince her that the bad breaks she gets in life are the result of other people not recognizing her talents. If she tries out for the basketball team and “rides the pine” because she’s not very good, I’m not going to sugar coat that for her. But I will tell her how proud I am that she made the effort to be on the team. And of course I’ll encourage her to work hard to improve.
You see, the love and pride I have for my daughter is the real, unconditional kind that only a father can give to his children. I want her to know that no matter what, she will always have my love and support.
I know she’s only 2 years old and doesn’t understand all of those nuances yet, but she does understand my love. When I tell her how much I love her and how proud I am of her, a content smile brightens up her whole face, which tells me that she gets it. She knows she’s loved.
That makes me her super hero.
Tags: Jon, Lessons Learned, Olivia
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