I demonstrate open-hearted love, compassion and empathy with my granddaughter by being really and truly present with her. I think there is no better gift of love than to role-model complete presence with another.

–       Tom Rausch *Leadership Beyond Limits, LLC* Leader and Coach to Leaders http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomrausch http://twitter.com/tcrausch

I agree with the need for complete presence. I have been building mindfulness practices into my life and my interactions with my children to try and model this. It seems like such an easy approach to life for them to pick up in the early years (4 and 7 years old).

I also spend a lot of time modeling positive intent. I want my children to assume everyone is trying their best (including themselves!), and by bringing this up everywhere I see it, …I hope to train their inner selves to see the world this way too. When we see someone doing something we might want to judge, we talk about what might be getting in the way of that person being their best selves….despite striving for this.

–       Shannon Wanless, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Program of Applied Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology in Education, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh

Happy Valentine’s Day!