I cannot remember my dad ever expressing his affection to me when I was a kid.

That is a sad statement, and it’s very true. My dad was not good at telling me that he cared about me. I know that he did, but he didn’t know how to do that. My guess is that he never learned it from his father either, because my grandfather was the same way. I knew he loved us, but he never knew how to communicate that.

When we had our first child, I determined that I would change that cycle in my family. And, even though it was tough, I learned how to express affection to my kids. I’m not the best at it all the time, because all those years of a bad example left their imprint on me, I’m sure. But I strive to be different, and I intentionally make the effort to let my kids know that I love them, in a variety of ways.

I often tell my kids that I love them. But displaying physical signs of affection goes a long way to backing those statements up.

For example, I frequently hug my kids. My oldest daughter hates it, especially if her friends are around. But I do it anyway. On the other hand, my second child loves it, and especially if her friends are around. I know that it shows her that I value her.

For my boys, tickle fights are frequent. It gets them laughing and smiling. And they know that I care about them because I take the time to play with them. I give them hugs as well, and they try to bravely brush them off (that’s not very manly, you know), but I know they secretly enjoy it.

My younger kids climb into my lap, and I lavish my love on them as well. They love to hold my hand when we go somewhere. I love to hold theirs.

Physical affection helps our kids feel safe and accepted. Physical touch has a powerful result, communicating love, security, and closeness. By no means should physical affection go beyond the boundaries of appropriateness, but our kids need us to communicate our love through physical affection.

I encourage you to give your kids a hug today. It doesn’t matter how old or young they are. Show them you love them.

Be deliberate, Dad!

Is physical affection something you find easy or difficult to display to your kids? What can you do to show them more of this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.