As parents, one of our greatest responsibilities to our children is to love them unconditionally and to tell them that we love them every day. My youngest son told me recently that he thinks I’m the best mom in the whole world because I don’t yell at him or argue with him like other moms do and I tell him and his brother that I love them every day. I felt very honored because I love both of my sons unconditionally and with all my heart and he understands and knows that. Do you love your children unconditionally and tell them that on a daily basis?

I was watching a popular morning show and a mother was talking about her deceased daughter and her love for her. He told her daughter at every opportunity that he loved her and those were her last words to her. It must be a tremendous comfort that her mother told her daughter before her death that she loved her and her daughter knew it. The greatest boost we can give our children is to let them know that they are loved unconditionally. It’s easy to say I love you. We love so many things. Does this saying sound familiar to you, I love coffee, I love my job, I love my pet, I love—-fill in the blank? Now that you know we use the word “love” loosely, when you say you love her children, do you show it?

My son not only knows that I love him, I justify it with my actions. He said that I don’t yell at him and his brother like other mothers. Yes, I discipline them and teach them manners and how to behave at home and in public. However, I do it in a loving and supportive way where you can receive what I am teaching you. I am amazed when I am in public and I see parents yelling and shouting at their children. I think to myself, that’s not showing love to your children and that you care. We can tell our children, but our actions speak louder than words.

We are bombarded with so many things in our daily lives and we feel frustrated, angry, upset and even disappointed. However, when we are at home in the presence of our family and children, what we have experienced throughout the day should not negatively affect your relationship with our family and children. We project our anger and frustration onto our children, and they were not the reason we felt this way in the first place. Is it fair that those you love and should show love to are the ones you take out your negative feelings on? No, it’s not fair. Our children are our most precious resources and the more positive emotions you show them the more developed they become to be productive and successful adults. The more negative emotions you show them, the more problems they will have as adults.

It’s no secret that the relationship a parent has with their children has a direct bearing on their emotions. As a child, I longed for the love of my parents, but rarely received it. As a child I was not told that he was loved and I longed for those three words, I love you, from my mother and father. As an adult in a relationship, I want and need to be told that he loves me constantly. As a father, I want my children to know every day that I love them unconditionally. I constantly tell them that I love them. What I missed as a child I am receiving as an adult and I will not let a day go by without telling my children that I love them.

Take the opportunity today to tell your children that you love them. Make it a practice every day to tell them you love them. It is even more important that your actions speak love to your children.