The importance of parents being affectionate with their children will never be valued enough. As much as we love them, if we don't know how to tell them or transmit it they grow without that important feeling. And it is that an important part of to be a good father is to be affectionate.
The physical affection and the warmth of the hugs are the fundamental nutrient of a child's life and the development of his brain. The experiment of Harlow already showed it when he let the monkeys choose between a device that owes milk and a warm stuffed animal.
And is that, If you are not affectionate, how will your child know how much you love him?
They say "works are love", and of course they are. It is not that unloving parents do not love their children, but they do not know how to make children feel it before they are mature enough to perceive nuances. Better than demanding that they understand us or then forgive us for being cold, isn't it better to learn to love, hug, kiss and be expressive?
Parents who are able to reflect and realize that they are not quite affectionate tend to find it useful to write down the times a day they hug, kiss (without being a prize or blackmail), smile or tell their children how much , much, much, who love them.
If you believe you can be more caring parents I encourage you to do it. How many times do you make gestures or say words of love and admiration to your children a day ?, and, on the contrary, how many times do you scold them, reject them, hurry them or make them feel that they disappoint you?
Many times, simply realizing what we are transmitting we will be able to improve and be better parents. And, as expected, children who receive love and reinforcement will feel safer, calmer and more willing to cooperate in the family. Everybody wins when parents are affectionate.
