In my last entry for CHOICE, encouraging is something difficult to do with people you spend most time with. I find myself doing less of that with my kids. I believe that with those you spend more time with, you see more and more of their faults than their potentials. My take is that it is the human nature of our sinfulness manifesting within ourselves.
So I make more and more conscious efforts to see the good things that Anna and JJ do. It’s effortless to just get mad at them when they disobey me and get hurt, or they are doing things I told them not to do. Yet, I let pass the right things and the good things that they do. I now take extra effort, especially in small things, to tell them that they are doing well.
Why? Their mental well-being is in the control of me. Being a parent, you become a world to them, and if I want them to grow up healthy, I need to nurture their mental growth as well. You should see their faces glowing when I tell them how well they did.