Modeling Self-Love

Principles

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💝

Last week, we explored how to create space for self-love. This week, let’s talk about why it matters: Because your kids are watching. The way you love and care for yourself teaches them to do the same.

Think back to your own parents:

• How did they love and care for themselves?
• Were they able to balance the needs of those close to them with their own?
• Were they self-compassionate?
• Did they live up to their core values, beliefs, and desires?
• How has their example (or lack thereof) shaped your own self-love habits?

Now, envision your children as adults:

• How do you hope they will love and care for themselves?
• How could you model self-love behaviors today to reflect your vision?

Remember, when you live in a way that asserts “I exist and I matter”, your children will learn to do the same.

A Few Perspectives

Actress Kate Winslet highlights the generational impact modeling self-love:

As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body’. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, ‘I am so proud of my body.’ So I make sure to say it to my daughter because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.

Author, N.J. Jemison, writes in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, beautifully captures the profound influence parents have on their children:

In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.

Pause for Reflection

How will you love and care for yourself this weekend?

Continue this reflection in the Moment for Parents app.