Perhaps you’re one of the lucky parents whose kids can’t wait to go back to school. Unfortunately, lots of kids have a hard time approaching the first day or don’t settle in for weeks, and for many different reasons.
Kids Need to Feel Valued: Value Your Children for Who They Are – Not Who You Need Them to Be
By Marta Fuchs, MLS, MFT
“I got everything I wanted except what I needed.”
It was a breakthrough moment. A therapy client suddenly discovered what he always knew and now could finally identify. By being able to name it, he became a witness to his experience, and could finally begin to feel compassion for himself. No wonder there were tears, in his eyes and mine.
Countless other successful people I’ve counseled have had that same sorrowful feeling that something basic was missing. They got everything they wanted from their parents except what they needed the most: to be seen and valued.
That is the essence of parenting – to see and value your children for who they are, rather than as an extension of yourself or as the means to fulfill your own needs.
