Being there for your kids - What’s Your Child’s Sign?

Episode Date: July 2, 2018

We all are born with a sign around our necks. What it becomes over time is a function of how we are treated by those who love us. What’s the sign around your child’s neck?

Hi, I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. I'd like to add an acronym to your vocabulary today and ask the question, what's an I-A-L-A-L-A-C? You remember vividly when each of your children were born. For moms, there is pain in childbirth. Don't let anyone convince you that is just pressure. However, this pain of childbirth is immediately thereafter replaced by the sheer joy of holding your newborn, nestling that child in your child. your arms. For dads, I remember feeling awed, thrilled, and terrified. A definite OMG moment. When my baby looked up at me, I knew she was a keeper. What parents don't realize is that all babies, no matter what the circumstances, are born with an invisible sign hanging around their necks. I call it the I-A-L-A-C, which is an acronym for I am loved and cared for. Each baby feels that love as they emerge from the womb, while lots of other emotions surround the birth, love is the predominant one.

The I-LAC sign remains hidden but there around our necks as we grow older. And yet, life events can chip away at our own IELAC sign. Little three-year-old Julie got yelled at after accidentally knocking over her mom's favorite lamp. It shattered on the ground. Ten-year-old Bobby didn't get much playing time with his rec league basketball team. When he asked the coach, he was told that the team was winning and he wasn't good enough to beat out the starters. Amanda, a 15-year-old high school freshman,

tearfully showed her failing history test score to her dad. He said abruptly, well, sweetheart, you should have studied more. At these moments and others, when this kind of stuff happens in our lives, a little piece of our IELAC sign gets torn away. Soon enough, the original sign can disappear altogether. However, because we all must wear an IELAC sign throughout our lives, a new sign will appear. We are born with I am loved and cared for.

Difficult events coupled with unkind words, reworked our sign to now read, I am lonely and confused. The kinds of caring, Christian parenting communication tools that I offer through my book and classes help children maintain their I am loved and cared for sign, even when our children make their way through the stress and strain of life.

What message is your child getting from their IELAC sign? I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist, and this has been Teachable Moments. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting, is available online at AmazonBooks.com and in local and national bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMC-P-I-N-C.com.