Last night Sherri and I bought two copies of The Five Love Languages for Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell. (We bought two so we can read and discuss them together!)

We get one shot at raising “The Ladies” and I don’t want ignorance to screw it up!

A few years ago we read The Five Love Languages and it changed the way we interacted with each other! So I can’t wait to see how Chapman and Ross apply these principles to kids!

A good quote…

“In raising children, everything depends on the love relationship between the parent and the child. Nothing works well if a child’s love needs are not met. Only the child who feels genuinely loved and cared for can do her best. You may truly love your child, but unless she feels it – unless you speak the love language that communicates to her your love – she will not feel loved.”

THAT’S HUGE! It’s possible to love a child and not communicate it clearly and consequently the child grows up feeling unloved!

There are some people who believe that this is what the Bible mean when it says, “Train up a child in the way he/she should go and when he/she is old he/she will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

Each child has “A way”: a way of learning, a way of giving and receiving love, a way of dealing with stress, a way of doing life. It is the parent’s responsibility to discover that “Way” and raise the child up accordingly!

I’m not going to parent with the assumption that all of my children’s “Way” is the same. I’m going to assume that each of “The Ladies” has a different “Way.” I’m going to figure it out, and raise them according to that way… so that they will  know they are loved.

The five “Love languages” (i.e. ways of communicating love) are:

1) Physical touch

2) Words of affirmation

3) Quality time

4) Gifts

5) Acts of service