As important as it is for us as parents and caretakers to teach our children empathy, it is equally as important to teach them love and acceptance for one another.

Love is the most powerful emotion on earth, and the definition of love is God, which means God is love. We all have a deep desire to feel liked, accepted, and loved by our family, friends, and associates. Acceptance involves understanding, respecting, and valuing others for commonalities and differences. It is an important part of developing positive relationships. Acceptance is good, but love is better.
Luke 6:31 states, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
During this episode, Lee Ann dives into the many ways we can help our children learn to accept and love one another:

The first step in loving someone may be that we first accept them for who they are – both the good and the bad.
It's never too early to start talking about love. Explain that love takes work but should make them feel good, not bad.
Tell your kids that loving someone is about caring for them, wanting what's best for them, being kind/patient/forgiving, being supportive, being there for them, respecting their feelings, and working together.
Model what it means to love others – your kids watch and learn from you daily.
Children express love differently: boys tend to express love through physical actions, and girls tend to express love through words and emotions.
Read stories that feature characters showing different emotions – this can help children understand how people might feel in different situations.
Help them understand that everyone is different because that’s how God made them.
Encourage them to be respectful and kind to others.
Model what it looks like to disagree without being disagreeable.
Avoid name-calling or any other type of personal attack when disagreeing with someone. Try to understand the other person’s point of view.

Once your children learn the importance of accepting others, teach them to model what it looks like. This can especially help in situations when another child is being bullied. We should encourage our children to invite others to join in a game or share toys, teach them to be good listeners, and – most importantly – show them how to treat others with acceptance, compassion, and love.
1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

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