Have You Hugged Your Child Today?

Lately I've felt like I'm on the edge of a total, mother's breakdown. I realized how guilty I feel about yelling at the girls, sticking them in timeout, and sending them out of the room every time I get annoyed with them. We've all heard the statement: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," and it's SO true. I would wake up feeling extremely tired, or just plain ornery, and without even saying much to anyone, it seemed that my whole little family was in a terrible mood. The spirit that I usually feel in my home was gone, and it had been replaced with a heaviness and mutual feeling of grumpiness.
Finally, a few days ago, I reasoned with myself and decided that things need to change. I've been too strict about little things: touching the TV screen, standing on the couch, running through the house, talking or giggling too loudly, etc; Honestly, those are things a child should be doing - otherwise they wouldn't be a child. I decided to just stop caring about those things. Sure, my house might be messier, and my kids dirtier...but who cares as long as everyone is happier. And when they ARE doing something they really shouldn't be, instead of spanking or yelling at the girls, I decided to try giving them a simple hug and tell them that what they were doing was wrong and that they need to do the right thing so they can be happy.
I put my plan into action, and let me tell you, my house has been a much happier place. The girls and I are enjoying each other's company a lot more, and the happy, safe feeling has returned to our home. I want to be thought of as a nice, loving mom; not a strict and non-understanding one.
There once was a commonly seen bumper sticker that asked the question, “Have you hugged your child today?”
President Hinckley once said "How fortunate, how blessed is the child who feels the affection of his or her parents. That warmth, that love will bear sweet fruit in the years that follow. In large measure, the harshness that characterizes so much of our society is an outgrowth of harshness imposed on children years ago."