Love Through a Child’s Eyes

WRITTEN BY SALLY JO HAND, THERAPIST AND DIRECTOR OF HEART AND HAND CENTER

Have you ever wondered what love is through a child’s eyes?

Or why a teenager, who was a much-loved child of adoring parents just a few years earlier ended his or her life in a dark moment of discouragement and despair when it seemed no one really cared?

Most parents adore their children and, in a heartbeat, would give their own life for them. Most parents work hard to provide for, feed, clothe, shelter and care for their children. And yet, an alarming number of children and teens today feel unloved and insignificant. Suicide is the number-one cause of adolescent deaths in America and, sadly, Montana ranks third highest in the United States for suicides. The U.S. suicide rate has climbed 36% in the past two decades.

Every child has what psychologist Dr. Ross Campbell has called a “Love Tank,” which like the gas tank in a vehicle must be filled up on a regular basis. A child’s life may be filled with toys, family, a comfortable home, friends, vacations and school – but, unless that child is getting enough one-on-one attention from his or her parents or significant adults, that child’s Love Tank is running close to empty. When a child’s Love Tank is full, he/she is eager to please parents, feels positive about his or her place in the family and learns to love and value him or herself. When a child’s Love Tank is empty, negative behaviors beg for attention and the child’s self-esteem plummets.

When a child feels loved, really loved, and valued by parents or significant adult caregivers, they learn to love and value themself. This is reflected in positive, appropriate behaviors that demonstrate love and respect for others. Love is communicated to a child when a parent or significant adult takes time to give them personal, one-on-one focused attention doing things the child finds interesting while listening and talking about things that are important and meaningful to the child.

In our busy world, while most parents would quickly affirm their love for their children, few actually take time to play with, read to or give their kiddos consistent focused one-on-one attention. This leads to children who fail to value their own lives, fail to see their own purpose, and who often fall into depression, loneliness and despair when going through the sometimes dark and difficult tunnel of adolescence with their Love Tank running on empty.

While no program or day camp, however wonderful, can replace the personal attention and love that each child needs from his or her parents, a day camp-week spent with adults who provide abundant focused attention, affirmation, personalized care, compassionate listening, and guidance while engaging in fun and interesting activities often does make a huge difference in a child’s life.

Heart and Hand Center Day Camps specialize in providing this level of care and attention for each camper who joins us during our Summer Day Camps. We keep our ratio of adult staff to campers small, about 1:3 and carefully screen every one of our adult staff members to be sure that each one is qualified and equipped to be the caring compassionate leader that children need and deserve. Whether we are engaged in horse time learning to communicate and safely enjoy the company of our wise and wonderful horses, hiking on mountain trails, sharing lunch together or making art and sharing hopes and dreams in our tipi or beneath the spreading pines, we make sure that every child attending our day camps feels respected, loved and cared for and receives one-on-one focused attention each day from our caring staff.

Most kids who attend our summer camps come back again and again and tell us that being at our day camp is the best part of their summer. Our goal is to help children learn to love and respect themselves, laying a foundation for growing into healthy caring adolescents, and into loving, responsible members of our society as adults. We would love to have the opportunity to help fill your child’s Love Tank this summer – so when you are planning your 2024 summer, we hope that you will look at what our summer camps offer and join us in making this the best summer of your child’s life!

For more information visit www.heartandhandcenter.com, email support@heartandhandcenter.com, or find us on Facebook (heartandhandcenter) and Instagram (heartandhandcentermt).