35 gifts which your kids will never forget

Most kids nowadays have dozens of toys, so it’s often hard to impress them with something new. However, the best gifts don’t come from the shops.
Here’s a list of the best things parents can ever give their children. How many of them have you already passed on?

1. Affirmation
   Sometimes one simple word of affirmation can change an entire life. So make sure your children know how much you appreciate them. And then, remind them every chance you get.
2. Hugs and kisses
   You might have seen those fathers who tell their young sons that they’re too old for kisses. Doesn’t it make you upset? Know that your children are never too old to receive physical affirmation of your love for them.
3. Meals together
   Meals provide unparalleled opportunity for relationship, the likes of which can not be found anywhere else. So much so, that a family that does not eat together does not grow together.
4. A sense of humour
   Laugh with your children everyday...for your sake and theirs.
5. The ability to see beauty
   Help your children find beauty in everything they see...and in everyone they meet.
6. Room to make mistakes
   Kids are kids. That’s what makes them so much fun...and so desperately in need of your patience. Give them room to experiment, explore, and make mistakes.
7. Stability
   A stable home becomes the foundation on which children build the rest of their lives. They need to know their place in the family, who they can trust, and who is going to be there for them. Don’t keep changing those things.
8. The drive to achieve great things
   Encourage your child to dream big dreams. In turn, they will accomplish more than they thought possible... and probably even more than you thought possible.
9. Time
   The gift of time is the one gift you can never get back or take back. So think carefully about who (or what) is getting yours.
10. Undivided attention
    It might seem like nothing, but this is really important. Always be by their side, and never let an opportunity to interact pass you by.
11. Compassion
    Life isn’t fair. It never will be — there are just too many variables. But when a wrong has been committed or a playing field can be leveled, you should want your child to be active in helping to level it.
12. Contentment
    The need for more is contagious. Therefore, one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is an appreciation for being content with what they have... but not with who they are.
13. Curiosity
    Teach your children to ask questions about who, what, where, how, why, and why not. "Stop asking so many questions" are words that should never leave a parents’ mouth.
14. Determination
    One of the greatest determining factors in one’s success is the size of their will. How can you help grow your child’s today?
15. Discipline
    Children need to learn everything from the ground-up including appropriate behaviors, how to get along with others, how to get results, and how to achieve their dreams. Discipline should not be avoided or withheld. Instead, it should be consistent and positive.
16. Encouragement
    Words are powerful. They can create or they can destroy. The simple words that you choose to speak today can offer encouragement and positive thoughts to another child. Or your words can send them further into despair. So choose them carefully.
17. The desire to create
    With the advent of the Internet, everyone who wants to create...can. The world just needs more people who want to.
18. Generosity
    Teach your children to be generous with your stuff so that they will become generous with theirs.
19. Spirituality
    We would be wise to instill into our kids that they are more than just flesh and blood taking up space. They are also made of mind, heart, soul, and will. And decisions in their life should be based on more than just what everyone else with flesh and blood is doing.
20. Honesty and integrity
    Children who learn the value and importance of honesty at a young age have a far greater opportunity to become honest adults. And honest adults who deal truthfully with others tend to feel better about themselves, enjoy their lives more, and sleep better at night.
21. Hope
    Hope is knowing and believing that things will get better and improve. It creates strength, endurance, and resolve. And in the desperately difficult times of life, it calls us to press onward.
22. Imagination
    If we’ve learned anything over the past 20 years, it’s that life is changing faster and faster with every passing day. The world tomorrow looks nothing like the world today. And the people with imagination are the ones not just living it, they are creating it.
23. Intentionality
    Intentional living and intentional parenting is important. Slow down, consider who you are, where you are going, and how to get there. And do the same for each of your children.
24. Lifelong learning
    A passion for learning is different from just studying to earn a grade or please teachers. It begins in the home. So read, ask questions, analyze, and expose. In other words, learn to love learning yourself.
25. Nature
    Children who learn to appreciate the world around them take care of the world around them. As a parent, you’re probably frequently asking your kids to keep their rooms inside the house neat, clean, and orderly. Shouldn’t we also be teaching them to keep their world outside neat, clean, and orderly?
26. Opportunities
    Kids need opportunities to experience new things so they can find out what they enjoy and what they are good at. And contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t have to require much money.
27. Optimism
    Pessimists don’t change the world. Optimists do.
28. Pride
    Celebrate the little things in life. After all, it is the little accomplishments in life that become the big accomplishments.
29. A striving for peace
    On a worldwide scale, you may think this is out of our hands. But in relation to the people around you, this is completely within your hands... and that’s a damn good place to start.
30. Self-Esteem
    People who learn to value themselves are more likely to have self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. As a result, they are more likely to become adults who respect their values and stick to them... even when no one else is.
31. Uniqueness
    What makes us different is what makes us special. Uniqueness should not be hidden. It should be proudly displayed for all the world to see, appreciate, and enjoy.
32. Your lap
    It’s the best place in the entire world for a book, story, or conversation. And it’s been right in front of you the whole time.
33. A welcoming home
    To know that you can always come home is among the sweetest and most life-giving assurances in all the world. Is your home breathing life into your child?
34. Loyalty to your spouse
    Loyalty includes more than just our bodies. It also includes our eyes, mind, heart, and soul. Devote yourself entirely to your spouse. Your children will absolutely take notice.
35. Love
    The greatest thing you can give them is love.

Source: becomingminimalist
Photo credit: pinterest

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

We’d love to hear your views on this…

We also recommend

• • 2
  One simple test to help you understand what you really want out of life
  
• • 2
  30 magnificent illustrations which you will definitely fall in love with
  
• Can you see all the colours? Find out your sensitivity to colour with this fascinating test
  
• 30 simple tricks to make your kids beam with joy
  
• 38 secrets of body language
  
• This incredible guy risked his life to save a drowning bear
  
• • 2
  This is what Disney princes would look like in real life
  
• • 2
  Nine interesting thoughts which will change the way you think
  
• • 2
  Seven questions to help you find your life’s purpose
  
• Ten delicious thick soups you can make yourself