Children are blessings from God (Psalm 127:3). They are His gifts to us parents. They bring joy and love into our lives. They teach us much about ourselves and life. How we treat these blessings will make a huge difference in their lives as they mature.

Respect is a vitally important concern in the family. How many of us have heard the adage, "Children should be seen and not heard"? Whoever offered that maxim obviously did not have respect for his children. To be seen but not heard likens children to statues, dolls or toy soldiers.

Remember, children are people too! They have minds and thoughts, tongues and words, vim and vigor. For them only to be seen and not heard does not give them respect. To respect someone is to give honor and value them. Respect means to pay attention to them and their needs.

We need to give proper eye contact to them when they are speaking to us. When we do, they know we are paying attention to them and that gives them a boost in value as a person.

We value our children by trying to understand them (1 Corinthians 9:19-22; 13:11). When we relate to them at their particular stage in life, we show them respect.

Giving compliments to a child is another way to show respect. It is recognition of a job well done or the effort put forth to do the task. Too often parents only tell their children what they did wrong. That is very discouraging to a young person. It is vital to look for the good in our children and compliment them for that good. There will still be other opportunities to help them improve.

To solicit their input shows respect for their thoughts and feelings. Asking our children for advice on family matters helps them feel honored and respected as members of our family. Children will learn respect by seeing their parents' examples of respect.

One final area of respect is in showing love and affection to our children. Children need reassurances that they are loved. One girl lamented to me that she could never remember being hugged by her father. When we value another, we want to appropriately show them love and affection. Touching appropriately (a pat on the shoulder, a jab on the arm, a hug around the neck or a kiss good night) communicates warmth, appreciation and love.

I remember kissing our girls good night when I had been gone all day and they were asleep. The next morning they knew I had kissed them the night before. Showing love and telling our children we love them sends a powerful message that they are valued and appreciated. We will never realize how much good that does for our children. Remember, it is up to us parents to reach out to our children in love just as God the Father reached out to us first (1 John 4:19).

So, let's give our children our love, our care and our respect and help them grow up to be healthy, happy and secure.