Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

UP TO TWO

A child's most important years are from birth to age two, the period when he acquires a sense of trust. To develop this trust, it is necessary to hold the baby often and lovingly. The baby can feel, even from birth, that his mother and father are people to be trusted. Thus, the foundation for learning is laid. If a child is abused or abandoned during this time, the scars of that hurt will follow him throughout his life.

One little girl was the victim of an evil home where she was constantly abused and abandoned. Finally, when she was two-and-a-half years, the courts put her into a Christian home where she was shown great love. The new parents thought they had successfully erased all the fears of those first two years, until one day the three-year-old stopped in the middle of her play and said to her new mother, "Mommy, are you going to keep me?"

Because a baby is helpless and cannot verbalize, many parents feel that abuse and abandonment during this period cannot affect him. They are tragically wrong. Most psychologists feel this is the most important period of a child's life. If he does not develop trust during this time, his whole life can become one of cynicism and frustration. The Christian couple can and will provide the trust a child needs for healthy growth.