When love is a home’s heartbeat, most children feel safe and secure in their own homes. They feel safe and secure.

Expressing love to your child is significant, but what truly matters is how your child perceives and feels that love.

Love can be confusing for a child when it comes to understanding what love is all about. Numerous influences shape young hearts and minds concerning the concept of love.

When a child who feels loved, supported and respected, begins to understand what all these separate words mean, they start to have a clearer understanding of the behaviours that accompany these particular words.

Raising children who have a healthy perspective of themselves because they learn to comprehend that love is their home’s heartbeat and discover what to look for in relationships outside the home.

When love is a home’s heartbeat, the child can develop an understanding of a healthy adult relationship when adults disagree yet still respect each other.

Children watch what their parents role model to them.

They learn it’s safe to have an opinion different to others and still be heard. They realise that by disagreeing with certain parties, tempers can flare.

The baby you once held in your arms will grow up and have a relationship with someone someday.

What kind of treatment do you envision for your child in their future relationships?

Are you role modelling to them what a healthy relationship looks like and is? Are you concerned your child will end up in a domestic violence situation because they don’t love themselves enough?

Teach your child about the various kinds of love. Let them know that there are loving, kind people in the world, and not everyone is like that. Let them know that not everyone has their best interests at heart – and that you’re always there to talk to.

Instruct your child on the importance of boundaries and the appropriate times to do so. Let them know what love is and what love is not. Speak to your child about bullying and how happy people don’t bully others. Unhappy people do.

Let your child know that nobody is better than anyone else and that we are all different and have different things to offer to the world.

Help your child understand how powerful it is for them to treat others with compassion and love because not every child has love as the heartbeat of their home.