Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting website
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A child's contribution

 
Two toddlers together
 

You probably spend much of your time trying to be a good parent, doing whatever you can for your child while balancing the needs and demands of a busy life.

Increasingly, you might be feeling more like a manager: managing a household, managing time, managing a job and managing children’s behaviour.

So often today we hear about the high costs of having children. These are usually described as economic, social and career costs. People talk about all the sacrifices they made to have children.

It can be easy to lose sight of what is important. Rather than thinking about what you have to do for your child and what you have given up for your child, take time out to reflect on the ways your child contributes to your life.

Children enrich our lives in so many ways. Your children give you:

  • unconditional love and admiration just for being you 
  • trust that you are the strongest, wisest and bravest person in the world 
  • the chance to be a hero 
  • the chance to be a child again through sharing in the magic and wonder of their emerging world 
  • the chance to experience an intensity of emotion and range of strengths and skills that may otherwise have remained hidden from you 
  • the chance to reflect on your own values, attitudes and assumptions about the world 
  • the chance to relive the joy and pleasure to be found in children’s play 
  • the chance to share in their fun and their laughter 
  • the chance to revisit your own childhood 
  • the chance to take time out from being a grown-up.

One of the greatest gifts parents can give themselves is time with their children. Take some time each day to laugh, cry, play, dream, wonder and explore with your child.