Acceptance

To accept someone means to provide for them a sense that they belong - to a group, a society, a church, or a family. Acceptance is not dependent upon situations, or achievement, or even appropriate behavior. Acceptance distinguishes between behavior and the person, and in the case where the behavior is inappropriate, the accepting parent communicates to the child: "I love you. I will always love you. You may have chosen behavior that is not OK, but you are always OK with me. Together, we will find the answer to whatever is wrong with your life. Together, we will move forward in our relationship, no matter what."

Acceptance is sometimes compared with "unconditional regard." Unconditional regard was thought by psychotherapist Carl Rogers to be the necessary underpinning for all healthy child-parent relationships. Children who are provided the bedrock of positive, unconditional regard grow up with a sense that they are valuable, worthwhile and essentially healthy human beings. Children who are not provided with parental acceptance, will grow up insecure and may battle with profound self-doubt. In search of the acceptance they did not find as children, they may invest their self-worth in work, in relationships, or in substance abuse, seeking there the completions that must, ultimately, come from within.

Acceptance is the unspoken agreement between parent and child that the love between them is unshakeable, and that they are welcome and valued, now and forever.

The next component to discuss will be understanding.

Have a blessed day.