“Love in any language, straight from the heart, pulls us all together...”
Actually -- the best love, the kind that gets straight TO the heart, is the kind of love that’s meaningfully spoken in their language.
Yes, I believe every human is born with and then nurtured to have a specific language of love, whether it be Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, Acts of Service, or Physical Touch.
You can love a gifts person with lots and lots of time and words of affirmation, and it’ll be nice, yes, but not BEST. When you love your child the way they really want to be loved -- it permeates. It’s efficient. It’s long-lasting.
How do you figure out your child’s love language?
This article makes it simple -- just listen carefully to your child’s requests.
“Can I help you?” {service}
“Did I do a good job?” {affirmation}
“Do you like the picture I colored for you? {gifts}
“Can I snuggle with you?” {touch}
“Can I go with you?” {time}
Gary Chapman, author of “Five Love Languages for Children” says that a good starting place to figuring out your child’s language is to “try all five and see what sticks”.
Wayne Parker, in his article on this topic, describes each language and how to best love your child in that language. Very helpful.
Now -- want to go even further? Teach your child to love you in your preferred language and others in theirs. Teach them to be multi-lingual in love languages. It’ll prove super helpful as they grow. It's something we all should do.
Happy children know how to give and receive love -- in just the right language.
Click here to read the rest of the posts in the series, 31 Days to Happier Children.