Jonah Engler explains that children express love very differently from adults and often don’t realize why they need to do so. As a parent, it is your responsibility to make your child understand the importance of expressing love because people who are inexpressive from childhood end up being the same when they grow up – which eventually hurts their relationships in the future.
Love is an emotion that is too complex for a child’s understanding which is why Jonah Engler says we need to take baby steps to show them how they should express it. If you don’t explain to your child the significance of giving and receiving love in a person’s life, they will never be able to express their love language. Love is a feeling associated with many other emotions, such as empathy and care – and for a child to grow up to become empathic and caring, they need to learn to show love from a young age.
Hence, today we will be sharing ways you can teach your child how to express love. Using these tips, you can make sure your child learns how to be more loving and expressive of their feelings.
Jonah Engler: Teaching Kids to Express Love
Be More Vocal With Them
Kids will only understand love when they see you expressing their love for the – parents who act detached or are not very expressive with their kids are unable to teach their kids to become expressive as well. When kids are growing up, they hardly understand words as it is unlikely for them to make connections of words they have not heard you say. Hence, try to be more loving with them. Keep telling them you love them. Moreover, Jonah Engler says to try to add more meaning to your words so they can understand the concept and use them to express their love for you as well.
Perform Acts of Kindness with Them
When you perform random acts of kindness, it shows kids what empathy is. This will make them understand some of the most complex emotions humans feel – which other kids their age might not be able to fathom. Tell them how kindness is a form of love, and sometimes you can also express love through actions, if not words. Jonah Engler says to teach children, you don’t have to show love to them only, but you can show it to other people – even strangers, so they know how big of a concept love it.
Encourage them to Discover Their Love Language.
We all know there are five different types of love languages; everyone has a different love language. Instead of expecting your child to be expressive the way you are, give them space to find their comfort zone. Your child will only be able to express love when they know what their love language is. For some kids, it can be using words. For others, it can be physical touch, and for the rest, it can be giving gifts. You can also teach them all five languages explicitly to help them discover which one they are comfortable with more and then encourage them to express themselves through that as well.
Jonah Engler: Final Words
Children tend to be expressive in their own way; as parents, you need to pay attention to the minor details of their behavior to understand how they are showing their emotions. Some children might struggle with showing love or expressing their feelings, but it is best to give them time and encourage them to take a different approach to their expression.