As a parent, there is absolutely nothing worse than a sick child.  It’s hard watching them when they are lethargic, throwing up, or when they have bouts of diarrhea.  Seeing them like this, all you want to do is wrap them in a blanket and scoop them up in your arms.  You want to take such good care of them.  You can’t wait for them to look wonderful, healthy, and strong again.  Elizabeth Stone said, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”  Well, watching your sick child is like having your aching bleeding heart walking around outside your body.  You do the best that you can, but sometimes you feel helpless.  And that’s the worst feeling in the world. 

As a parent, you can’t wait to see your child kick that cold, flu, virus or disease.  You can’t wait for them to be hundred percent again.  And you find yourself praying for their incessant questions of ‘why’, and their continual demands of ‘again’.  And when this happens, you will feel completely exasperated, but you will also feel eternally grateful.  So here’s to a healthy child.  Parents, there is no better feeling in the world.

You know, one of the hardest things for me is how people show favoritism to one child over another.  I remember being a young child and feeling slighted and rejected from an adult in that way.  As a kid, you don’t know what you did wrong, but you know they like the other child better than they like you.

So adults, we need to stop that behavior.  Even if you do have a favorite, it’s important to treat every kid like they’re special in their own unique way.  

Alright everybody, give me an example of how you made young children who are siblings, cousins, or friends feel special or loved by you?