Babies may not understand what a "gift" is, but they adore that thing called a "gift."
Every mother, when carefully selecting a gift for her baby, likely unconsciously imagines the look of pure delight on her little one's face upon seeing it. Beyond mothers' own shopping habits, their babies' smiles are probably the greatest motivation driving us to choose gifts.
Younger babies may not even know the thing Mom suddenly pulls out from behind her back is called a "gift." Yet the novelty of the gift itself, and more importantly, the sparkle in Mom's eyes the moment she presents it, will make the baby fall in love with that thing called a "gift." Because gifts satisfy two things that are very important to babies: love and curiosity.
Babies live in a state of constant, eager exploration. Everything new holds an innate appeal for them, so gifts naturally satisfy their curiosity. But what about "love"?Would you doubt that a baby doesn't recognize the love behind a gift carefully chosen by Mom, or the unmistakable happiness on her face when she hands it over?
A gift isn't limited to something bought with money—anything that conveys heartfelt sentiment is a gift.
Of course, a gift is far more than just a narrowly defined "purchased item." As mentioned above, anything that brings surprise to a baby or expresses affection to them can be called a "gift."
If you can feel the baby's longing after a whole day without seeing his mother, you'll instantly pull him into your arms for kisses and hugs the moment you see him. You might even gather a small bouquet of roadside flowers or a cute pebble before meeting him.If you've seen the longing in their eyes when others hold paper airplanes, you might secretly fold one and place it by their pillow, waiting for them to wake up and dance with joy. If you long for your child to share in the festive spirit during holiday seasons, you'll likely prepare creative holiday breakfasts long before they understand what "Christmas" or "Chinese New Year" means.Who says a hug, a stone, a paper airplane, or a breakfast isn't a gift?
Within your means, preparing non-purchased gifts not only expresses affection equally well but also teaches children that gifts aren't always bought with money. This way, moms don't have to constantly worry that buying too many gifts will spoil their children's material desires.
"Giving gifts too often will spoil children" is a baseless concern.
Precisely because babies don't yet understand the concept of receiving so-called "New Year gifts," our proactive gestures of giving now carry even greater heartfelt meaning.
Think back to our own Valentine's Day experiences. If we agreed with our husband that he'd give us flowers on Valentine's Day, and he did so as promised, we'd feel sweetly touched.But imagine if no promise existed—he secretly buys a box of chocolates, or gets something he knows you've long desired. Wouldn't that sweetness be incomparably greater? Would this unexpected delight make us more demanding in future requests, or less concerned with material things? The truth is, whether for us or our children, what we crave most isn't the gift itself, but the "I love you" behind it.