So, I asked him if I could have that picture. With a big smile on his face he saw that I really liked that one, so he gave it to me. I immediately placed it in a folder that I used for work.

Kyle knew that I carried that folder to work every day. He would often ask to see that picture and it would always be within arm's reach of where I was sitting. Over years, I would constantly be looking at that picture when he was in room. As a matter of fact, I recently decided to scan that picture and put it on Internet for even you to see. I never got around to having it framed and matted -- I guess I must have known I'd be using it!

Why did I put it on Internet? Because I still want him to know how much that picture means to me.

One other thing I forgot to mention. He's now 18 years old. He's never let a day go by without drawing something. He began drawing what I always wanted him to draw, "pencil portraits" and back when he was only 14 years old.

One of his first pencil portraits was during Presidential debate between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Kyle came home from school with a brochure he got during class as they were discussing debate. He sat down and drew a very good likeness of what would later become President of United States. You can see drawing of George W. Bush on Kyle's website....http://www.kylehilton.com

Many parents have shared with us how they've showed their young children -- Kyle's website, to help further inspire their own children's talents. Please feel free to drop Kyle a note in care of my email address : thomas@ailspromotions.com and I'll see that he gets every email commenting on his artwork. We welcome all comments because, yes we were able to raise such a positive kid and we still continue to find ways to let him know it.

-------------------------------------- We do encourage you to pass this article on to anyone you know that could use an inspiration and we encourage you to praise your children at such an early age. You'll be surprised at just what can be accomplished from a child with a positive self image and positive parents as role models. Please visit http://www.write-ebooks.com to download this story along with picture Kyle drew at age 6 or 7 and two others he drew at age 14 -- all in an ebook format.

Disciplining with love usually incorporates some level of understanding. We need to understand developmental milestones in each stage of our child’s life. When we compare his actions to actions of average child in his age group then we can better understand if his behavior is appropriate or not. For instance, a seven month old banging on a glass table may receive a different parental feedback versus an eight year old doing same action. What we deem appropriate for our young children, we can also deem inappropriate for our older children. At times it is also easy for us to confuse self-exploration with aggression and misbehavior.

Disciplining with love helps us to bond with our children by giving them security that they need. By being consistent with our rules and consequences, we are showing our children that we are responsible, credible parents. Consistency is a difficult part of discipline since it is area most tested by our children. Being consistent also takes a lot of patience and perseverance. Our emotions can sometimes get in way of consistency and we let things slide when we are happy but we always reprimand when we feel miserable.

When we discipline with love we try to stay connected to our kids. We focus on behavior and not character of child. We try to change bad behavior without making child himself feel like he is bad. We aim to explain cause and effect of a situation before resorting to time-out and seclusion. We try to understand reason for behavior. Is behavior caused by a need for attention? Is child displaying some behavior seen at daycare or at school? Is child being bullied on playground? As parents we are our child’s best advocate. Taking a loving approach to discipline helps strengthen communication bond between you and your child. It assures child that in times of need you will be there.