Investing in your children

I was told once that the reason some parents refuse to 'give their attention' to their kids is because they are afraid to be let down when the kids are older. I wish I had the guts to tell the person that kids are your kids from the moment they are born, right up to the time when you die - they will always be yours. With your children, you don't have to worry about them saying 'I don't want you anymore. I am dumping you.' Your kids are not your girlfriend or boyfriend. They are not your spouse. They are your flesh and blood. Even if they say they don't want you anymore, your blood flows within them. They cannot 'undo' that without first killing themselves.

Some parents think that investment is putting loads of money into their children's account. Some parents think that spending quality time rather than more time with their children is more crucial. Some people think this, some people think that. I won't judge them. But we should sit down with our kids and ask them what is it that they want.

Some kids don't even know how to voice out their wants. They think they want a new hand phone, a new jacket, a new dress, but the moment they have it, they still feel empty. And yet some kids are busy tending after buffaloes, they come home and mom is there, they go to the fields and dad is there too. They don't have the latest handphones, the nicest dress, cool leather shoes and yet, they grow up feeling alright.

When it comes to my kids, I only wish for a few things - that I could spend more time with them, talk with them, laugh with them, scold them when they do wrong, praise them when they do right. To provide them guidance, to provide them love, and to love much until it hurts. That is investment for me. It is not so much about money, because I really don't have much of that to throw away on the newest gadget which they will soon tire and leave anyway. I come home and my kids kisses my cheek. I feel blessed.

It is okay if they leave me to build their own nest one day. I won't see that as a loss in investment. It is okay if they decide they don't love me at all too. It will hurt a lot, but I still don't see that as a loss in investment. As long as they are well, and they treat others with respect and care, and be kind to each other as God would want them to be, I will be happy and grateful. I will invest in them as only a parent should.