Have you ever fasted for any length of time? Fasting is a pretty interesting discipline that can be such a great learning tool if you let it. One thing that can be learned is that when the fast is over anything feels like a feast compared to the fast.

An observation that I have made, sadly, over the last few years is that parents seem to either ‘feast’ or ‘fast’ when it comes to being emotionally supportive to their kids.

In some families it appears that there is an abundance of time given in order to listen, support and love children deeply and then there are other families where this is missing altogether or rarely seen at all.

I researched some definitions of emotional neglect and this is what I found:

Emotional neglect can be defined as a parent or parents putting their own wishes, goals, needs, and wants above their child’s; marked inattention to the child’s need for affection; any behavior that interferes with a child’s mental health or social development; name-calling, making negative comments or ignoring the emotional needs of a child.

As I write this, I am praying that as parents you will make it your goal to ask God to help you do whatever it takes to become those parents who choose to be the ‘feasting’ family when it comes to being emotionally supportive of your children.

Love,

Karen