Love is Patience

 by: Neil Eskelin, Neil Eskelin's Jump Start
[编者话]无条件的爱在这个世界上存在吗？我想大家都会同意起码在孩子小的时候，父母对孩子的爱一般都是无条件的。大多数美国人的观点是“孩子不是生他/她的父母的私有财产，是属于上帝的”，由此听听以下Neil Eskelin给做父母的建议。

Here's a message that needs to be drilled into the hearts and minds of every mom and dad: You don't love your kids because of what they do, but because of who they are.

Simply rewarding children with affection because of their accomplishments is like a circus trainer giving a dog some food every time he jumps through a hoop. The dog isn't loved for himself, but for his actions.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the popular talk show host, has a new book for children titled, "Why Do You Love Me?" Part of the story includes a mother explaining to her son that it is not what he does that makes her love him -- she loves him because he is unique and because he is her son.

You don't show affection simply because a child is good at karate or gymnastics. Every mom, dad and grandparent needs to memorize the words of a long-time popular song: "I love you most of all because you're you."