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Your kids often come across short stories about fictional characters who fought for love and had happy endings. Their innocence makes them believe that true love, trust, friendship, and happiness are the ultimate reality of life. You know your kids need to know the truth, but how will you describe a 4 letter word that is one of the most complicated feelings in the world to your little ones? A few insightful messages about love might make it straightforward for them and pop the fairy tale world bubble without making them feel hopeless. Read along to find the best way of defining love for your little one.
1. Love Is Not What Is Shown In Fairy Tales
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Fairy tales are fictional, but kids love the vibe. They become fascinated by its ideology and start believing in love wholeheartedly. Try explaining to your kid that the love stories they see or hear in these fairy tales aren’t entirely true. Tell them how challenging it can be for someone to hate someone they love. Show them the less beautiful parts of love before reality breaks it for them and makes it more heartbreaking.
2. One-Sided Love Is Real
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This term may be complicated for young minds, but if you want them to handle feelings better in the future, you must introduce the concept of one-sided love to them. Explain to them that not everyone will love you back the way you love them every time. Sometimes, due to different reasons or challenging situations, people may try to push them off even if they want the better for them. Moreover, you can tell them they can share their feelings with you if something like this happens. And they should learn to let go, as one-sided love can be excruciating. Also, the process will be less traumatic if they are better aware that you will be there to help them.
3. Loving Is Not A One-Time Thing
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Kids also need to understand that for a happy-ever-after, people have to put in an effort not just on special occasions but every day. For something as fragile as love, efforts should come from each area of life, from supporting, trusting, guiding, laughing, crying, and whatnot with each other, no matter the situation, to strengthen the feeling. Eternal love is possible if the person they love is deserving and ready to put in as much effort as they do.
4. Love Doesn’t Always Last Forever
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Moving on is the most challenging part when you are separated from someone you once loved. But it’s not meant to be like that. That is not the end. The efforts, the moments, the spark, and the happiness people share while in love are never a waste of time but valuable lessons to experience. Kids must understand that sometimes it’s absolutely right to end a relationship rather than drag it out to make it last forever.
5. Self-love Is The Best Love
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The kids should learn to differentiate between self-love and selfishness. They should also learn to embrace themselves for what they are, respect others, and not use them for their own advantage. Finally, they should keep themselves from transforming to please someone or fit into a stereotype.
6. There’s No Love Without Respect
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People who don’t respect their partner don’t love them for real. So children should know the difference between a healthy and toxic relationship. They should know how to give respect and take it as well. Be it a friendship or a romantic relationship. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and love. And as a matter of fact, respect and love are the backbones of a healthy and long-lasting relationship. So, teach the young ones to back off from groups or individuals where they get mistreated or abused because a toxic relationship is never a good thing to be surrounded by.
7. Love Is Not Sacrificing Yourself Every Time
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The king compromised his life for the queen. Your kids must have heard similar stories with the same endings a couple of times and might think that love is always about sacrifices and compromises. Yes, it’s crucial to make sacrifices in love (not always one’s life), but not every time. Your kids need to understand that loving someone does not require them to give up on themselves or do everything and anything for the other person all the time. Sometimes, it is good to take the backseat and realize the importance of prioritizing yourself. Loving someone isn’t about just giving, but it’s true only when there are efforts and sacrifices from both ends.
There can be many examples and ways to make your kids realize and understand the true essence of love. But if only it were as simple as that. We hope these introductory lessons and messages help them figure out this feeling and differentiate it from what’s shown in the fairy tales. So, in the comment section below, let us know whether your kid asked you about the meaning of loving someone or how you made them understand this complicated loving feeling.
