How children know they are loved

By Staff
Suzanne Langcuster
Columnist
One of the best things I have ever read was Bill O' Reilly's thoughts on raising your children.
In an article "Are you looking out for your kids" he lists 10 things you can do as a parent to give your children the tools they need to build a successful life.
I have scaled down the list. Among these are :Making time for the child; Has a home that is his refuge ; Will provide a good education; Be available when the child has a problem; Screen a child's friends; Know where they are; Enforce the rules and explain them; The parent will be honest and lead by example; A good parent will be respectful to their own parents; good parent will not allow a TV or computer in a child's room.
This is a very thorough list and may raise some questions, however there are some other things you can do without saying, that assures you child how much they are loved.
These things give the child a since of maturity when they are able to perform actions the rest of the family are doing. We praise them for what they have learned and they are more interested in learning new skills.
Since this is on the food page of our newspaper, I thought we might add how important it is to have meals with your family.
Give everyone a chance to get to the table at least once or twice a day and share things with each other. This is where the cooks come into play.
Children are very pleased when they think you have prepared a dish especially for them. Maybe Tommy likes meat loaf, but Sally doesn't.Make Tommy his meat loaf and make Sally's favorite so she won't feel left out.
This helps a child who has experienced a bad day, or is worried, or feeling left out. Cooks can really come to the rescue of someone who is low.
This can lead to letting the children to help you prepare food.
They are learning such a special skill, the preparation of food. My grandchildren often help me cook when they come and they are 11 years old.
They learned how to make stuffed eggs when here on Thanksgiving and made them for their parents when they got home.
Children want to be loved and excepted.
You as a parent play a major role in making them feel loved.