The Five Love Languages of Children

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, M.D. has been an interesting read for me. Over the past year I have taught a graduate level class about leadership, specifically leadership within the realm of education. In one of our class sessions, we were discussing that one of the practices of an exemplary leader is to encourage the heart of others. How does one effectively encourage the heart of others? An exemplary leader, an excellent leader takes the time to get to know, to understand, and to uncover what his/her constituents are all about. This is not done as a means of external and internal manipulation but to enable others to reach their fullest potential.

Love is the foundation and this is the foundation of the book. The authors suggest that there are five love languages of children. In no particular order the five love languages of children are: 1) physical touch, 2) words of affirmation, 3) quality time, 4) gifts, and 5) acts of service.

According to the authors, every person has a love tank that needs to be filled and/or kept filled. The way to fill an others love tank is to discover which of the five love languages is their "primary" love language. This book provides you information on each of the five love languages, examples of each one, and ways to discover your child's primary love language. The authors stressed that it is important to be "mulit-lingual" in your approach of loving your children; however, the love you give to your children will be powerfully felt when given purposefully through their primary love language.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be beneficial to me at this time in my life. As I look at and have conversations with my two children and my wife, I can't help but think about ways to communicate my love towards them within one of the five love language categories. Which love language is their primary love language? Time will tell.

Yes, this was a good book that will change my way of doing business both within the household as well as in my line of work.