Presence vs. presents.

Civil right leader Reverend Jesse Jackson says “ Our children need our presence more than our presents”. This saying is very true. The most precious present a parent can give their children is just being with their kids. All parents love their kids but kids are not able respond equally. Today neither parents are able to express their love nor are the kids able to realize it. Parents are never able to embrace their kids and say you love your kids. But that doesn’t mean parents love their kids any less. No one can measure the amount of love that a mother has for her kids; not even the mother. It’s an emotion that can only be felt. It’s just a matter of spending time with your kids and letting them know that you love them. Children need their parent’s time, love, and bonding more than any gifts & objects that money can buy. It’s important for a parent to spend time with their children and not just buying them things to show that they are present. Parents are the number one factor in influencing children today. With parents spending quality time with their children, it cuts down on the amount of kids running the streets. Kids tend to have higher career and educational goals than other kids when their parents are involved with the schoolings. A parent’s role is to support their child academically and guide them into adulthood. Parents need to know their kids academic strengths and weaknesses in order to work with their child on the skills they are lacking. My parents come from family without college degree. They had me observe how they both work hard to support family. They explained to me if they had had college education, things would be a little easier for our family. If my parents had not given me self-confidence, I wouldn’t have enrolled in college. Parents need to teach their kids how to be a good person and help them be a successful person in the future. Parents are very important to their children’s life. However, today most parents spend less time with their kids due to the fact that they have to work. Kids hardly see their parents. Mom and dad come back after work at night when the child is sleeping and they go to work early morning when the child is still sleeping. Where is the time for a child to have a bonding with the parents? Parents give presents when kids need your presence. Parents forget to give them the time and interest they deserve. Parents live gifts on kid’s bedside and a note saying happy birthday. . Children are in critical need of nurturing. They need your encouragement, praise, and support. They need a willing ear to hear their concerns and a tight hug that expresses your unconditional acceptance and total commitment. Gifts can spoil your kids. Children think its ok to disregard others needs and be a demanding brat. How can children learn how to live right when they have never seen it done? We can spoil our children with material things, but we can’t spoil them with love. What we can give to them is our attention, our availability, our mindfulness, our closeness, our time. Rather than spoiling our children by giving them too much, why not enhance their self-worth by providing them opportunities to be giving, caring human beings.