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For a child there is nothing like a parent's love. Knowing that there is someone big enough to protect you at night when the bumps and creaks seem bigger than your whole bed room. Also, having someone to pick you up when you fall down and skin your knee or bang your head is a great expression of love.

But this alone is not enough to complete a child. There must be a constant reinforcement of the actions of the parent with nurturing, confidence building words such as the big three among others. Children love unconditionally, because they know no different. These parents are there to meet every need such as feeding, changing and totally caring for the child, which equates to love in that little bundle's eyes.

How does this relate to the importance of spoken parental love? How can a parent speak this love to their adult child if they have not maintained the practice from the beginning of their child's life? It is much easier to say "I Love You" if you have said it all along. If you try to say that after years of not having it as a part of a relationship, those three words can be mighty hard to utter.

I can give a firsthand account of this. My parents were born in the first two years of the 1940s. They both grew up with two parents, so they had would you would say was a stable home. I know there parents loved them and remember some words to that effect being exchanged during my growing up years.

This did not translate so well to my life. I tried to count the number of time I remember my mom and dad actually saying those words and sadly I did not need all my fingers to account for the instances. It just was something they did not say. I will not say they did not love me, because I know they did. Everything they did was for my successful development.

I learned from this and now make it a daily requirement to tell my children I love them and are proud of them. I do not want them to ever doubt, wonder if it is true, or feel the way I do when they get to be an adult. Even now as my mom is all that remains of my family I find it hard to say those words, but I do.

I have a couple of friends that model this concept of parental love to show that it is possible. One was a good friend through high school that always got a kiss on the cheek and I love you from his parents before we left his house to go to a movie or whatever we were doing that night. The other is a 37 year old woman that got flowers from her dad on her birthday and for Valentine's Day. She was absolutely overjoyed and said very plainly "I LOVE MY DAD!"

Although it is not an attribute I like to practice, I envy these people of their bond. Spoken parental love is crucial to the complete development of a child. Without it, self esteem will be much more limited. So, parents open your mouth and learn to say those words. Actions are not enough to complete your child.

Learn more about this author, Joe Owens.
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