There's always advice for parents that promises to be the game changer everyone is looking for, but each child is different, so that claim is rarely true. However, this advice may work as claimed, as it is a very simple change that can make both parent and child feel vindicated even in difficult situations.
Anjuli Pascal recently posted a video sharing a phrase her mother used to her as a child that changed her life. She was washing her family's antique china during her Christmas vacation when five fragile dishes fell to the floor and shattered, she said. Hearing her noise, Pascal's mother shouted from the other room, “I love you more than those dishes.''
The simple words Pascal has heard all her life reassure her that mistakes happen, but that her mother will always love her more.
However, her mother used it not only when disasters occurred, but also when she achieved something. The purpose was to constantly remind Ms. Pascal that nothing she could do or accomplish would diminish her mother's love. The phrase “I love you more than…” is useful because children can absorb a lot and internalize what may come out of their perfectionist tendencies. It aims to build confidence and self-forgiveness. Commenters tell Pascal how useful the phrase is and how they plan to use it.
“Today my 7-year-old son and I were decorating sugar cookies for his birthday and the platter they were on fell and broke while she was carrying them…My immediate reaction was, 'It's okay. …I love you more than that platter and cookies…we'll make 'more.'
Your post was very timely, friend. Thank you,” one mother wrote.
“As someone who specializes in the development of the mind and nervous system and how it affects adult life, this is extremely powerful. When you feel this as a child, you hear it from the world. There's no need, because it's encoded within them as an embodied truth “already,” others have shared.
“You know what's best? This sentence is very realistic and logical, and can give parents the reality check they themselves may need when they're angry. Yes, I love those dishes. But do I love them more than I love my children?
This little phrase may not be for everyone, but it's certainly something many commenters wish they had heard when they were kids. Watch the entire video below.
