The Closeness I Want My Children To Feel At Home

I want my children to know I’m there for them, physically and emotionally. When I think about the family life a home should make room for, I think about being “huggy.” Giving a child a hug matters. So does being available to hear them and tell them what they mean to you.

For families choosing their next home, I’d keep that closeness in mind. Where will you spend time together? Where can you sit beside your child and talk? Those ordinary moments are the ones I want to make room for in my own family life.

I also think about whose stories our children are hearing. My concern with screens is that, while a child is watching, someone else is teaching them and telling them stories. I think that deserves our attention as parents. I want my children to hear stories from me, too.

My Catholic faith is part of what I want to share. I can pull my child aside, give them a hug and say, “I’m willing to die for you in the same way that God died for you.”

To me, that’s a good thing for a child to hear. It puts words to the love behind the hug. That’s “huggy” in my estimation: affection a child can feel, with a parent who’s there for them emotionally.