THE LETTER “L” IS FOR LAVISH

ABC’S OF PARENTING SERIES

The twelve part of our ABC’s of Parenting Series is The letter L.

The letter “L” has a full range of words that relate to Parenting! Below is a small list that we think are important while dealing with our kids. We have included our thoughts, tips and tricks related to the letter L.

Language

Kids learn language through their interactions with other children, with their parents and family and with other adults in their lives. They learn their language skills by what they are surrounded by. Kids learn from their environment. They learn the words we teach them.

We have always avoided baby talk with our children. In fact, many have commented about how we speak to our babies and children like they are adults. We do this on purpose though. We want to teach them from a young age how to communicate. It has worked for us and our children are all very good at communicating.

Laughter

You have to remember to have fun and find ways to laugh. There are so many opportunities every day to smile and laugh. Try not to be too rigid. Have fun and laugh at your own mistakes and shortcomings. You know we all have things we don’t do well or we make those mistakes that are just plain ridiculous. Smile at your faults!

Being able to laugh at yourself shows great strength and actually builds your self esteem. By laughing at yourself you are actually teaching your kids to laugh as well. Mistakes are what make us grow after all. We might as well have fun while we are growing.

Lavish

Living a lavish life doesn’t always mean you sail off into the sunset on your private yacht or that you fly away on a private jet to your own tropical island. Although, I think we all can agree that would be pretty great!

In our home we live a lavish life through giving generous amounts. A large dose of compliments and praise goes a long way. Our lavish lifestyle is impressive when you really think about it. We are all generous and we live in great abundance! Sometimes that is all you really need.

Learn

Teach a love of learning. Play learning games. Encourage excitement of learning. Follow your kids lead in play and let them teach you as well.

Play is important to learning and creativity. Teach kids to use their imagination, it develops life long learning skills. Let them figure out simple solutions to simple problems from an early age. Through this, they will learn to be active problem solvers.

Legal

Legal obligations exist for parents in terms of parenting our children. We are responsible for meeting their emotional and physical needs. Making sure their food needs are being met. Appropriately clothing them and properly restraining them in vehicles. Providing safe and adequate housing. Meeting any and all medical needs. Ensuring their educational needs are happening. Protecting them from abuse.

As parents, if we are not meeting any and all of these needs of our children we can face serious consequences. These are all fairly basic needs and unfortunately there are parents that do not meet these for their children. If you are struggling with meeting any of these for your children, please make sure to access one of the many resources in your area!

Legit

As a parent, we need to be legit with our kids. Be someone that is credible in their mind. When we are genuinely good, we can be impressive and are capable of great success. As we are legit in the eyes of our children, we teach them to become legit to those around them. We teach them to be incredible and to be impressive. We show them how to reach great success by being successful ourselves.

Less

We have all heard that less can actually be more, right? A lot of the time, doing less is more effective in parenting as well. Obviously there are things that you shouldn’t do less of but there are certainly some things that you can limit.

When parents talk less they actually end up hearing their kids talk more. If we spend less time in the kitchen, our older kids end up spending more time cooking and trying recipes. When we give less gifts and rewards to kids for doing the things they are supposed to do and we give them for random acts, there is a greater impact. When parents do less directing of play kids use their imagination much more.

Life

Live your best life! Live up to your potential and stop putting things off. You don’t have to wait to fulfill your dreams. Live in gratitude and teach your kids to dream. Teach them to reach for the stars and teach them to set and achieve goals.

Our kids remind us to live in the moment. When we sit and enjoy them they can show us all the great things that are right in front of us. They teach us to appreciate all we have and show us that our best life is right where we are. here and now.

Life Lessons

There are so many great life lessons we can teach our children. These can be taught in so many different ways. We can teach them though examples, through mistakes, by role playing, and by conversations.

Some big lessons we should try to teach are: honesty, respect, being able to loose, being able to win, managing time, being responsible, being reasonable, knowing how and when to apologize, recognizing our own and others emotions, eating well, being healthy, sleeping well, asking questions, being able to say no, standing up for yourself, setting and achieving goals, and resolving conflicts.

Lift

Praise, encouragement, and guidance all lift our positive vibrations. It is our job as parents to lift our children up. To raise them so high they can see the world from the mountain tops.

As you lift your kid up for a piggy back ride, imagine how giant they feel. Sometimes a lift is figurative and sometimes it is literal. Either way, lift your kids in your arms and in their spirits!

Likable

Being a likable person really makes life a little smoother. When you are pleasant, friendly and easy to get along with you are able to build a much larger circle around you. It is important to raise our children to be genuine, trustworthy, confident and comfortable in their own skin.

There are many qualities that a likable person can have. Asking questions, paying attention in conversations, not passing judgement and being open minded. Being a person that is approachable and interesting and that is consistent and reliable are great qualities to instill in our children. We should show them they don’t need to seek attention. These children tend to have positive body language, make good first impressions, greet people by name, they smile, are balanced, and generally promote harmony. ‘

Limits

Kids are impulsive by nature. It is our job as parents to teach limits, boundaries and safety. Kids usually want instant gratification and are impatient. We need to set limits in the home to teach them to be able to wait for things. To get them to understand that things don’t always happen in the time frame they may want them to. We don’t just have to put limits on food and screen time there are many other things that need to be limited as well. Parents are the ones that teach healthy decision making. Kids are always going to find ways to test the limits we set. Always remember to be consistent and stand your ground when it comes to the big areas. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated and remember to stay strong in the boundaries you set.

List

Lists are amazing in many aspects. They help with organization, goal setting and they make chores feel, more manageable. List help keep you and the rest of the family focused. Having active lists can help organize the overwhelming aspects of life. When you have a clear outline of completed and uncompleted tasks you are able to feel more in control. Lists also are a great way to allow us to think logically about pros and cons.

Listen

Kids perspectives can be eye opening. They are often smarter than you think and smarter than we give them credit for. They may not use big fancy words but their words can have a huge impact!

Kids learn to listen when you listen to them. Always remember conversations have two components, listening and talking. Listening can be the most important part. Don’t listen to respond, listen to learn. When you do this, the conversation is much more beneficial.

Lonely

Parenting can be lonely and isolating. Mundane chores, rinse and repeat, same thing every day. Expensive for babysitters, no time for friends, make time for your self. Do things that make you happy. Self care goes a long way.

Lore

Families have generations of stories to pass down to the next generation. It is important to teach our children to listen to the elders in the family whenever possible. They often tell stories of the past and honestly love to do so. These stories they tell connect the past and the present.

Pass these family stories down the line. You can learn so much from your own history. Not only can you learn about medical and mental health situations but you also can learn about what may have worked and what may have failed. A lot changes in terms of technology from generation to generation but a lot actually stays the same. Learning family lore can be eye opening and exciting!

Love

This one may seem simple. Love your child right. Tell them you love them often! But, what are some other ways to show them you love them? I have a few ideas you might like to try.

Write them notes, you can mail them, or put them in their lunch box, or leave them on the fridge. Just write to them and tell them something special, a message just for them. Surprise them, it doesn’t have to be crazy, pick them up from school and take them for an icecream, just because. They feel that one deep! Read them an extra story, give them a little more of that special one on one time. Find your favorite picture of you and them, frame it for them and help them hang it someone special, just exactly where they want it. Talk about your favorite memories with them and be detailed. Talk to them about how you think about them when they are gone. Every once in a while, cast aside the rules and do something you wouldn’t normally do. Show them how to be carefree for a moment.

NEXT UP – THE LETTER M

BACK TO – THE LETTER K

What is your favorite parenting word that starts with the letter L? Feel free to share in the comments!

Dr. Suresh Khirwadkar has a wonderful post that you might enjoy that hightlights The Importance of Time Off. You may really enjoy his thoughts on being a working dad and balancing home life.

Another great post is from Justin over at Teenagersmoney.com. He has a fantastic post: A Teenager’s Guide to Making Money.