All of us wish we'd had perfect childhoods, with a mother and father who modeled ideal parental attitudes and taught us to internalize the tenets of self-love. Many of us, however, did not.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Had we not loved ourselves at all, we could never have been obliged to love anything. So that self-love is the basis of all love.
The self was a very strange concept to me until I came to America, and my child was born with that entitlement, and that just thrilled me.
I was taught as a young child by my parents and family to love myself.
I did not give my daughter the kind of childhood anybody would want. The vision of the divided loyalty between a mother and father who don't live together and don't share in decisions is a great depravation for children.
I always had the sense that nothing was never good enough - striving for perfection. My mother and I had a sort of typical mother-daughter relationship.
I realized relatively early on that I had no desire to be a mother whatsoever. I actually love children, but specifically other people's.
I had parents who were incredibly loving and nurturing and always made me feel beautiful, so I never really questioned that.
If your mother did not know how to love herself, or your father did not know how to love himself, then it would be impossible for them to teach you to love yourself. They were doing the best they could with what they had been taught as children.
While I didn't have a father around, I did have - and what I want my children to both experience - the ability to explore, experiment and enjoy life as a kid.
I would never wish my upbringing on anyone... but I wouldn't take it back for the world.